We Live
by im hopper
Summary: AU post-apocalypse. Elsa saves Anna's life and together they face dangers of post-apocalyptic era. Elsanna. Not incest. Slight Kristelsa.
1. Prologue

_Hello everyone! Thanks for taking your time and checking out this thing I've written. It is my first fanfic ever and it was inspired by reading all those wonderful _Frozen_ fanfics. _

_You should be warned that I'm not a native English speaker – I'm still learning so if you manage to get through the text and find any errors, feel free to tell me about them. And also, I accept constructive criticism with open arms. _

_Let's get down to business now._

* * *

Prologue

I was cold. So cold.

It was one of the worst winters I had ever experienced. I was generally very fond of snow and cold because in the long lost life I could always wrap myself with warm blankets and sit in front of a warm fire while cuddling with my boyfriend on the sofa. _My boyfriend. Kristoff. _After fifteen months it still hurt to think about him.

Now I lived differently though. Times had changed. So had my life. I was living by, so called, new era's routine. It basically consisted of walking, sleeping and living with my thoughts and imagination. I would have said eating was a part of routine too if it weren't for the fact that my meals were not as common as I would have wished for them to be. But I didn't complain. At least I lived. There were always ups and downs and in that moment I had just experienced another up. I had found a shelter for the night.

I was staying in an abandoned barn which was a really good thing because I hadn't slept with a roof above my head for almost two weeks. It wasn't much but the walls and wooden floor covered with old and smelly blankets kept me dry which was better than nothing.

This is how I ended up there; I'd been walking for days without seeing any sings of human settlements which could provide some additional food and water or at least a place to sleep without freezing, though I tried to avoid bigger towns and cities because they were usually in gangs' domain. I was staying close to the forest because it was easy to hide in there if I encountered with people who weren't friendly and they, in most cases, weren't.

Sometime in afternoon I spotted a path which led deeper into the forest so I decided to follow it. I ended up in a clearance where a small farm was located. Well, it used to be a farm until whoever occupied it burnt it down and left. _Or the owners were burnt with it. _The thought sent shivers through my body. It wouldn't be surprising though since the times had changed for worse. These days you could be killed over a pair of shoes. People killed people because no one was there to stop them.

After I checked out the perimeter and made sure there was no living soul around, I made my way to the barn which was left untouched. At least it seemed so. I pushed the gates open and quietly entered. "Hello?" I said out loud and took the gun, which used to belong to my father, from behind my belt. I didn't want to use it. It was for emergency only. I walked around slowly, looking carefully for any signs of movement. Fortunately, there were none. I climbed up the ladder which led to the upper part of the barn. I pulled it up with me so no uninvited guests could share my new haven. _This is good_, I thought. I was far from the ground that sucks the warmth from your body while sitting or lying. The best part of being high though was the fact that people couldn't see you (it was rubbish if you had to make a quick escape but at least you could hide). Not being seen is one of the key parts of survival. Along with ability to find water, food and start a fire of course.

So, there I was, shivering, looking out of the small window, while the sun was disappearing behind the hills, and thinking about how to spend another lonely evening. The sound my stomach made gave an idea.

I grabbed my backpack, opened it, removing a sleeping bag, and started fiddling among things I carried with me. There were some clothes, a rope, an old music player (which I needed anyway so I took it out), batteries, a flash light, a med kit, plastic bags, two bottles of water and–oh, there they were. I found the cans and I pulled out the first one I laid my fingers on. "Tuna fish, yummy," I exclaimed happily and opened it. A thought about food warmed me up. I took out a fork from the front pocket and started eating. _It's almost a royal dinner, Elsa_, I thought to myself while chewing slowly to savour the taste of a simple meal. I haven't eaten so well in days because I had to save food. I was lucky to have as much as I did but that didn't mean I could just consume everything in an instant. I had to think rationally about everything.

After scraping every bit of tuna from the can I noticed it was almost completely dark. I turned on the flash light so I could prepare myself for sleep. I untied the shoelaces of my warm combat boots and took them off. The feeling was very pleasant after wearing them for a whole day. Then I took off the double layer of socks so I could wipe them with refreshing tissues. The air was cold against my bare skin so I quickly put the socks back on. Then I unzipped my jacket and the hoodie. I could already feel fingers of cold creeping up my spine but I had to wash myself a bit because I hadn't done it properly since the winter had come. All I could do for my personal hygiene was cleaning myself with the tissues and occasionally some warm water; if there was plenty of it. So I undressed the upper part of the body until only my bra was left and washed myself. It felt good to be a bit cleaner after days of sweating and roaming through mud.

I quickly put the clothes back on, wrapped the blanket around my body and laid down on the unfolded sleeping bag. I took the music player and put the ear buds into my ears and started the music. The familiar sound of my favourite band filled my mind and I turned off the flashlight. After a few songs which made me feel not so alone I turned off the music player too and drifted off into sleep, not knowing that events of the following morning were about to change my new era's routine.

* * *

_If you're reading this, congrats and thank you. _

_The following chapters will be longer. _


	2. Chapter I

Chapter I

I woke up with a start. My heart was pounding and hitting my ribcage with fear because I was sure I heard voices. I sat there frozen; not daring to breathe or move for fear of making any sounds that would conceal the voices that might have been there. _Shit. _I heard them again. As quickly, and at the same time as quietly, possible I put on my boots and walked over to the window. I slowly raised my head to take a peek and then I saw three people. They were walking, no, two of them were dragging the third person with them, towards the barn. _Shit, shit, shit. _They were too close which prevented me from running away. So all I could do was hold still and wait for them to go away.

"… Let me go!" pleaded a woman's voice.

"Shut up, bitch! You're not going anywhere." A man's voice said. _Oh, shit. _

"Please, I have food and …"

Smack!

I knew where this was going the moment I heard that man raise his voice.

"You make another sound and I'll cut that lovely tongue of yours out, girl." Sneered the man who slapped the woman.

They were so close now I could see their faces. The tall guy who hit the red haired girl had a long auburn beard covered with frost and it seemed he was about thirty or more years old. The shorter one was much younger and above his upper lip was a hint of a moustache.

"Ya sure this place is safe?" asked the younger one.

"No, but we'll be done quickly with this girl here." _They're going to rape and kill her right here,_ I thought and I could feel my stomach drop and blood freeze in my veins.

_I can't let that happen._

I dared to take a glimpse through the small hole in the wood and what I saw, flickered a flame of courage in me. Poor girl was barely standing there, without any energy left to fight. Her jeans were torn on the left side, revealing a bleeding leg, and she lacked a jacket or something warmer to protect her from the cold.

_But you can't be seen, that's the key to survive. Stay hidden and no harm shall come to you. _This rule kept me alive and the rational side of me nodded enthusiastically. _I can't just let them violate the girl. I'm not an animal, _I argued with my brain.

I took another glimpse and now her face was turned in my direction. I almost let out a small cry when I saw that this girl was so young, younger than me. _I _have_ to help her. _

"I'll go first, you go outside and watch for any intruders," said the older guy.

The younger one left the barn and the one with the beard grabbed the girls arm and dragged her to the working bench in the corner.

"Please, I'm begging you, don't do this," cried the girl.

The man said nothing and started unbuckling the belt of his trousers.

The girl was trying to push him away, but he was too strong for her.

"Hey, bastard!" I heard myself yell. I didn't even come up with a plan when I found myself standing with a gun in my hand and pointing it to his head.

He looked up, his eyes, filled with lust and surprise, met mine and there was an evil smile starting to form on his lips. Then I pulled the trigger. The bullet hit him in the head and his lump body fell on the floor. I was staring at the body for a few seconds when I heard the other guy approaching. _Now what? Gonna kill him too? _

"Hans, what's going on? I heard a gunsh-what the fuck?!" He saw his companion's body lying on the floor, blood oozing from his head.

"You bitch, what did you do? You're gonna pay for this!" He pulled out a knife, started walking over to her when I shouted: "Leave her alone or I'll shoot you too!"

The guy stopped abruptly, his arms above his head and voice completely different now. "W-who a-are you?" he whimpered.

I noticed the girl turned her face towards me and this was the first time her teal eyes met mine. Her gaze was empty and distant.

"It doesn't matter. Just turn around and run away," I ordered the guy, hoping he would listen, my gun still pointed at him.

"O-okay," he said and ran through the door almost tripping while he turned on his heels. _That went well, _I thought sarcastically.

I waited a few more seconds just in case the other guy changed his mind but he didn't so I let out a loud sigh and dropped my arm to the side.

The girl was still staring at me when I turned my gaze back to her.

"Hey, stay there, okay? I'm coming down, I won't hurt you. I promise," I said quietly to reassure her I meant no harm. I tucked the gun behind my trousers, scrolled the sleeping bag and attached it to my backpack and grabbed the blanket which was still lying on the floor. I lifted the ladder so I could climb down. When I saw the girl was still there, now sitting on the floor, her face in her hands and sobbing, I sped up and jumped from the ladder when I was close to the ground.

I approached her slowly because I didn't want to scare her even more. When she was in my arms' reach I stopped and kneeled before her. I wasn't sure what to do next so I started talking.

"Hey, there. I'm Elsa."

The girl slowly lifted her head from hands and looked at me. Her teary eyes were not empty any more. There was now only pain and relief. "I-I …" Her voice was shaking so she inhaled deeply and started again.

"I'm Anna."

I smiled softly at her. "We need to get you somewhere safe, so I can clean your wounds," I said. "Do you mind if I help you stand up?" I asked her, slowly reaching her arm so she had time to yank it away if she didn't want to be touched.

She shook her head so I gently took her arm and helped her get on her feet. She was weak and her face was drained from colour which made her freckles, covering her cheeks and nose, more visible. She was bleeding from several wounds and her face was covered with a couple of bruises.

"There's a village … A village about one hour from here," she said.

"Do you think it's safe there?" I asked.

"I was there when they," she pointed to the body with disgust reflecting in her eyes, "found me. I was alone."

"Okay, we'll go there then." I took my backpack and wrapped Anna with the blanket.

"Thank you, Elsa."

"It's just a blanket," I smiled at her.

"No, I mean, thank you for doing this. For saving my life." She looked at me with tears in her eyes. In that moment I felt like my heart was being ripped into thousands of small pieces and then being put back together again. Something about her was messing with my feelings and I couldn't decide whether that was a good thing or not.

"I … It's okay, I mean, I couldn't let them do that to you."

We looked at each other for a few moments thinking what to say next, so I asked her: "So, um, in which direction is that village?"

"To the north," she pointed with her arm.

"Let's go then. Oh, and we should watch out for the other guy, I don't know if he actually ran away."

Anna stiffened. "But don't worry; I won't let him near, okay?" I quickly added and mentally slapped myself for bringing that up.

She nodded, not entirely convinced. We had never seen him again though.

Then we started walking. We were progressing in silence until I noticed Anna's heavy breathing and I was starting to worry that she would collapse. "Are you okay?" I asked her.

"Yeah, I think so," she nodded, but she didn't sound sure.

"We can take a break if you want to," I offered even though we'd been only halfway through.

"No, I can make it." She sounded determined.

"Just let me know if you need to rest, okay?"

"Okay."

We were walking painfully slowly. It was cold and the road was covered in icy mud so we had to be careful not to slip but after what seemed like two hours had passed I caught a glimpse of a church.

"Hey, Anna, is this it?" I asked Anna.

"Yeah, we're almost there," she whispered. I looked at her and saw that she got paler; if that was even possible.

"You're cold," I said, more of a statement than a question.

I wrapped her left arm around my neck and put my right arm around her waist so I could hold her firmer. I quickened the pace when I grew worried that Anna wouldn't make it to the village.

"Hang in there," I said and I could feel her squeezing my hand which held her waist.

I was almost dragging her by the time we reached the first house. It was a small abandoned village with a church and about twenty houses which were scattered around the place.

"Go to the third house on the left. It's got a high fence and I know how to enter it," Anna said weakly.

"Okay," I agreed and started walking towards the building. I was pretty sure it used to be a beautiful villa with big windows so the light could reach deep into the house. Now the windows were covered with iron bars and the blue colour had almost completely faded away.

"There, can you see that handle?" Anna asked me and pointed to an iron bar that actually looked like a part of the fence.

"Um, this one?"

"Yes. Now pull it."

I did what she said and a part of the fence flew open just enough for a person to fit through the gap. I helped Anna to go through first then I followed her, holding her arm because she seemed she was about to collapse. Lastly, I grabbed my backpack I left on the ground, so I could squeeze myself through, and pulled it towards me. Then I closed the gate shut.

"Almost there."

Anna nodded. I was taken by surprise when she tugged on my arm and started to lead the way. We entered through the back door and ended up in what looked like a garage. Anna didn't stop though. It looked like she knew exactly where we were going.

"Anna, wait."

She stopped and turned around, her exhausted gaze fixed on me. "What's wrong?"

"I have to make sure no one is here. You wait here, I'll be back quickly."

"Just check the ground floor," she hissed because of the pain and slumped against the wall behind her.

"Why, I mean, someone could be hiding upstairs."

"Just … Trust me, okay?"

I looked at her not sure what to do. Her words struck me with wonder. _Do you even know how to trust anyone after all this time? _I asked myself. I've already broken several rules of survival, checking out the area before settling _was_ one of them, because of this girl. _But yet I still live. _What was even more surprising though, I found myself trusting her.

I nodded, grabbed my gun, took it off safety and started searching the house. When I exited the garage I ended up in a hall with some doors on the each side. I entered all of them and they were all empty. When I was about to go further down the hall, I heard a noise coming from behind me. I ran back to the garage when I found out Anna wasn't there any more. I didn't know why but I started panicking.

"Anna! Where are you?" I almost yelled but I managed to make it a whispered yell. A sound of glass shattering. My head snapped into the direction from which the noise was coming from. Only then I noticed there was another, almost hidden, door and I sprinted towards it. I slowly opened it when I saw Anna lying on the ground, unconscious, glass shattered around her (she must have hit the shelf filled with glasses) and my heart almost stopped. _Shit, don't be dead, please. Shit, shit, shit. _I ran to her, lifted her head and relief took over me when I was sure she was still breathing.

Then I saw it. There was a small gap in the ground. I realized Anna was trying to open some sort of a secret passage but the effort was too much for her already exhausted body. I gently laid her head on floor and pushed the stone hatch further so it was big enough for us to enter together.


	3. Chapter II

Chapter II

I somehow managed to find my flashlight so I could at least see what kind of place I had entered. I let out a quiet gasp when I realized it was a safe room. There was a table with candles placed on it and chairs surrounding it in the middle of the room; walls were covered with shelves which were full of books, clothes, _food _and many other things I didn't have time to recognize when I saw there was a mattress lying on the floor. I took Anna over to lay her down.

_Ouch!_

While standing up I hit a lamp that was attached to the wall next to the mattress. _A lamp? But there's no electricity._ I couldn't help myself so I turned the switch on and at first I thought it wasn't working. I was pretty shocked when the lamp actually lighted up after three seconds of warming up. Well, energy-saving lamps did tend to do that.

Without wasting any more time I turned off my flashlight and kneeled beside Anna to check the seriousness of her wounds. There was a violent blue bruise stretching over the left side of her jaw and another one was covering her right cheek. A couple of scratches were cut into her forehead and the bridge of her nose. The lower lip was swollen and bleeding. When I moved her hair from her neck I saw a clean cut which was still bleeding a bit. Blood was mixed with some loosen strands of her hair so I gently removed them.

After checking out her injured leg I went to find some towels on one of the shelves, to soak them with water from my backpack and start cleaning her face carefully; I didn't want to cause even more damage to her face. Then I disinfected the scratches with hydrogen peroxide from my med-kit and gauze and repeated the procedure on her neck and leg. I had to bandage the latter because it didn't stop bleeding.

After checking Anna's wounds once again I hesitated whether to change her wet, torn jeans, covered with mud and blood, with something cleaner. But as soon as I saw that she started shivering I walked over to shelves once again and started searching for a pair of trousers. I found a grey pair of sweatpants and woollen socks which I reckoned would fit her. When I was done with changing her into something cleaner, I covered her with some additional blankets so she could warm up. Then I just sat there, watching her chest rising and lowering in steady, even breaths. For the first time in what seemed like eternity I didn't feel alone. I felt like breaking all my survival rules was actually worth it. Seeing this girls face covered with wounds but surrounded with a spirit of innocence and something similar to grace stirred something deep inside me I didn't know existed anymore. _I don't want to leave her,_ I thought. I knew though that once she had waken up I'd pack my things and leave because that's what I did. I never stayed at one point for too long. I had to walk on. I'd only ask Anna for some food and water and then bid her goodbye.

When my legs started growing numb, I stood up and stretched them. I went over to the table to light the candles. They lit up the room well so I turned off the lamp to save the electric energy, which I still had no idea where it was coming from. I found myself standing next to where books were and slowly ran my fingers over their spines. _Boy, I haven't read books for ages. _I took one and checked the title; _The Snow Queen_, by Hans C. Andersen. I had always loved children's stories, especially those written by this particular author. I was about to sit down on one of the chairs when I caught a glimpse of a framed picture. I looked at it and there was a capture of young Anna, playing with a German shepherd cub, in front of the soft sky-blue villa which was identical to the one we were staying in, only there were no iron bars on the windows. Then it struck me. _This house, this villa, is her _home. She must have lived here ever since the new era started. I placed the picture back on its spot and took another picture of the girl with her parents. They were celebrating Anna's birthday so there was a huge chocolate cake in front of them, decorated with candles and sprinkles. _"Happy 3__rd__ birthday_" was written with vanilla cream. Anna's face and hands were covered in chocolate. I couldn't help myself but giggle at the sight.

I put the picture back on the shelf so it was facing the room. Then I sat down and started reading the book I took from the shelf earlier.

x

_It was a hot summer day. Everything was green and the smell of summer was something I wanted to imprint into my memory forever. The sky was clear and I felt like I could drink it up with a straw if one long enough to reach it existed. I was sure it would taste like rain. _

_On that perfect summer day, I and Kristoff were spending some time together at a small lake behind our house._

"_C'mon Elsa! Jump!" Kristoff called after he dived into the clear water._

"_Okay, get ready for the impact!" I called and started sprinting towards the lake. I took off and pulled my knees up to my chest and yelled: "Cannonball!"_

_I landed with a huge splash and a cool sensation rushed over my body when I sunk deeper into the lake while heat started to fade away quickly and the feeling was very pleasant. A pair of hands held my forearms and I opened my eyes and found myself looking into blurred Kristoff's eyes, a wide grin spread across his face. We swam to the surface when I was starting to run out of the oxygen. _

"_Boy, this feels so good," I smiled and pressed a quick kiss on Kristoff's lips. _

_He wrapped his arms around my waist and held my body closer to his. "Wanna go for a swim?" he asked._

"_Loser is washing dishes tonight!" I said before pushing his head under water and sprinting to the other side of the lake. _

_He caught up with me quickly but that wasn't enough to beat me because I was a trained swimmer so he didn't really stand a chance. Nevertheless, he always accepted the challenge. _

"_You know, one day I'll win and it will be you washing dishes after the dinner," he said, pulling himself up on the rock next to me. _

"_You wish," I teased, leaning into his side. _

_We sat there and talked about how beautiful sky was, how drops of water on my skin reflected sun light, how willows branches touched the water surface, how tasty Kristoff's pancakes with chocolate were … _

"_Elsa! Honey, can you please come inside? You've got to see this." My mother's voice interrupted our deep conversation about reindeer._

"_We're coming!" I yelled back while standing up to dive back into the water, Kristoff following my moves. _

That was the last time we swam in that lake.

x

A sound of a book hitting the ground woke me up. I shook my head, images of the dream fading quickly. I was surprised about the fact I fell asleep behind the table. _I'm getting too comfortable here, _I thought to myself. I picked up a book and returned it to its place on the shelf. Wondering how much time had passed I walked over to check on Anna, who was still asleep, before leaving the safe room to figure out where the sun was.

Instead of leaving the house I went down the hall which was connected to the garage. Walking slowly I reached the end of the long hall and I found myself standing in the middle of nothing. The small atrium was empty except for some broken furniture and a staircase on each side of it. Soft orange light was pouring through windows, casting shadows on the floor. _Wait, orange?_ I ran up the stairs to take a look at the outside world. The sun was already setting which meant I'd slept through almost the whole day. _Crap, I can't travel in the night time, _I thought. Another habit broken. I'd barely made any progress that day even though I was supposed to walk on every day. I knew it was probably pointless and I certainly didn't know where I would end up but at least I was doing something and sights of new places fed my imagination and that occupied my mind from thinking about the life I was living.

Since I had only two options, one of them was going out and catch up with the lost kilometres, the other one was staying here overnight, I chose the latter one which was, really, an obvious one. Before heading back to the safe room I wanted to explore more of the house but the feeling I'd be intruding Anna's home stopped me from doing so. I shook my head when a new thought occurred to me, but ignored it when I entered the safe room.

"You're still here," Anna's voice interrupted my train of thoughts when I walked in. She was sitting on the mattress, still wrapped in the blankets and looking at me with her teal eyes.

My heart sank when I registered what she said. "Oh, yeah, I'm sorry … I was just waiting for you to wake up. To check if you were okay. Which you are, now. I'm sorry, I'm going to leave," I said without showing any emotion.

"No, no, I didn't mean it like that!" she rushed and stood up. "Gosh, I'm sorry, I was just surprised you were still here, you know. I mean, I'm just some random stranger who happens to be lucky and got saved by someone like you. Woah, what am I saying, of course _you _saved me, not just _someone,_ and I am really grateful, so thank you very, very much and I don't mind if you stayed here, I mean, you can if you want to and I completely understand if you want to leave just to get rid of my babbling …" she trailed off with a palm smacking her forehead. "Ouch, that hurts." She hit the wounds.

I was flooded with relief and I couldn't help myself but giggle at her. "It's okay, I'd love to spend the night here."

"Really? That's great! I haven't had any guests over for way too long which, I think, has started affecting me, I mean, I was talk active before but now I talk to even myself," she said happily.

"Don't worry, I don't mind you talking. I think it's a nice change to finally have someone else to talk to besides my brain," I replied. "So, you're feeling better, I presume?"

"Oh, yeah, my head and leg still hurt a bit but it's no biggie," she answered, her gaze dropping to her injured leg. "I think I might–wait, what am I wearing?" she asked grabbing her sweatpants.

"Um, about that, let me explain," I rushed. "Your jeans were torn and soaked with blood and you were cold so I …" I stopped mid-sentence when I saw her expression changed to one I couldn't figure what it meant. "I'm sorry, I swear I didn't look anywhere but your legs. Shit, that sounded so wrong," I hit my forehead with my fist. "I'm not a pervert."

"Did you … Did _you_ change my socks?" she whispered.

"Uh, yes, your feet were cold and …" once again I stopped mid-sentence. This time because she threw herself at me and wrapped her arms around my body and buried her face into my left shoulder. _What? _

At first I thought she was going to hit me so I was utterly shocked when she hugged me and left me empty minded and not knowing what to do with myself.

"Thank you, Elsa, thank you, thank you, thank you," she mumbled into my jacket.

Still not knowing what to do, I raised my arm and patted her back lightly. I could feel a grin was starting to form on my lips.

She suddenly released me and I could swear there was a slight blush colouring her cheeks. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to throw myself at you like that but I couldn't help myself, you're just too good to be real and … Wait, what?"

Now it was my turn to blush. "Thank you, Anna," I said.

"No, no, thank _you_, Elsa. I don't know how I am ever going to repay you for your act of kindness," she replied with a worried expression forming on her face.

"A mattress and a permission to sleep here would do," I suggested.

* * *

_So, what do you think so far? I hope I didn't scare you off with my English, I'm trying very hard, really. _

_And once again, I thank you all for bearing with me. _


	4. Chapter III

Chapter III

"_Hey, what's up, mum?" I asked my mother while drying myself up with a towel. Her eyes were on a verge of tears when she pointed to the television. I was beginning to worry. "What's wrong?" I asked while sitting down on the couch, Kristoff joining me after he dressed himself into dry shorts and a T-shirt. We were looking at the news and what we saw brought a chill into our hearts, even though it was a hot summer afternoon. The news showed clips of thousands of dead bodies. There was a clip of a football* match where people just started dropping dead one by one. Whatever was killing those people hit the camera guy as well, so the end of the clip was just a mess of feet trying to get away. _

_I couldn't watch anymore so I took the remote and turned the TV off. I was staring blankly at the screen and gripping Kristoff's knee hard. "What happened to those people," I asked quietly._

"_They say it's been going on for a while; it's some sort of a virus epidemic. The governments didn't want to scare people so they tried to cover all the information and keep the problem hidden. It was working well, since the virus wasn't killing people by then – it just made them very sick. So they, along with the help of World Health Organization, managed to maintain peace until the virus mutated drastically. It gained properties of the HIV virus which means it can attack the human immune system so the body isn't able to fight against the virus. It sort of just breaks the immune response chain. But that isn't really important now, the problem is that after the immune system is disabled, the virus, its RNA built in human DNA, launches the differentiation of white blood cells and turns them all into macrophages – cell eaters. When they reach the brain cells, it's over," my dad's voice trailed off and left us in silence. "There's no cure …" he added quietly, almost a whisper._

"_But we're gonna be fine, right? I mean the goddamn virus won't reach us?" Kristoff asked hastily, his voice full of hope._

"_I'm sorry, son, but it's just the matter of time before the virus spreads worldwide. It's airborne and no one knows how quickly after the infection the virus starts doing the damage," dad replied. _

"_How the fuck could they keep this from us?" my boyfriend suddenly yelled. "We had the right to know so we could prepare ourselves, hell, so the governments could take care of the situation or, or start the fucking evacuations! And now it's too late!" I had never seen him this angry before._

"_Hey, hey, Kristoff, calm down," I said, my hands on his cheeks. "Maybe there's a way, maybe they will find the cure or maybe we can just stay away from people, okay? You can stay with us, you don't have to go back to the city," I told him and looked at my parents who nodded to confirm my words. _

"_I don't know, Elsa. This is fucking bullshit," and with this he stormed off._

x

I hadn't slept that well since … I couldn't even remember when. The room was warm and a simple mattress was a luxury compared to where I used to sleep. The best thing though was the fact that I didn't have to worry someone would find me while I was asleep. Living with this constant fear could take a toll on people but I was sort of adapted to my life style so I'd learnt not to fall into a deep sleep.

Memories of the night before started to form before my eyes while I stretched and yawned. After we settled another mattress on the floor for me, Anna went outside and left me a bit confused. She returned with a huge grin on her face and a plastic box. "We're gonna have a steak for dinner," she exclaimed happily. And so we did. She started a fire and let me know she can do that only at night when no one can see the smoke. Then she opened the box and took out a frozen piece of raw meat. "I hope you like venison," she said and laughed when she saw me staring and drooling at the piece she put into warm water so it would thaw. "Anna, how … Where did you get meat?" I asked her.

"My dad taught me how to hunt," she answered simply. "It's easy to keep it edible in the winter. You know, because of the cold and I can keep it frozen," she added as a-matter-of-factly.

It was the best thing I had ever tasted.

While eating I asked her numerous questions about the safe room. Where did the electricity come from? How big was this place? How did she get fresh water? She would answer all of them and her words left me speechless. Her mother was some sort of an expert for different kind of machines so she made a power generator which was connected to the sun cells planted on the roof of the house. The energy was collected in the accumulator built in the generator. Or at least that's how I understood what she'd told me. Then she showed me the whole place which was quite big. There wasn't only one room as I thought at first. Under the stairs that led to the surface was a door which led to the storage room. The room was filled with food, bottles of different drinks (I think I caught a glimpse of wine too), a couple of large med-kits, tools, batteries, overall, it was supplied well. Very well. Then she led me to the other side of the main room, where the fireplace was and around the corner was another door. Behind the door was a small bathroom with a sink and a bathtub. I was wondering if there was warm water when Anna answered my unspoken question. "There's a container of water behind this wall," she patted the wall next to her. "The heat from the fireplace warms the water and it stays warm for a long time because the container is well isolated," she explained. "So, you can take a bath if you want to."

I didn't have to be asked twice. I nodded enthusiastically as she shoved shampoo and a towel into my arms. "I'll be right outside if you need anything. Enjoy," she winked and closed the door after she left. I did enjoy it. A lot.

When I was done I found Anna sitting behind a table with a pencil in her hand and apparently she was drawing something. She was so focused on what she was doing she didn't register when I asked her what she was doing. "Anna," I tried again and this time she turned her head to look at me. "Hey, how do you feel?" she asked.

"I feel clean," I answered and we both laughed. "What are you doing?" I asked her and moved closer to see what she had been working on.

"Eh, nothing, just sketching," she said quickly, closing the sketchbook before I could see what was in there.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to be nosy," I said while trying to conceal a small rush of disappointment.

"It's okay, it's just I'm crap at this so … I guess it's my turn to take a bath now," she replied and changed the subject.

"Okay and I think I'm gonna lay down for a while," I said before she disappeared behind the bathroom door.

I laid down on my mattress and covered myself with a blanket. I was looking at flickering flames and just when I was about to take my music player I heard Anna singing … With a voice of an angel. The kind melody was travelling around the place and soothed me to sleep.

"Good morning," said Anna when she woke up and brought me back from trance.

"Your voice is amazing," I looked at her, referring to her singing. "And good morning to you too," I quickly added.

"Oh, thank you," she replied and I noticed there was a blush forming on her cheeks. Her hair was a mess; which I found cute. It was beautifully orange-red, I couldn't really decide which shade but I thought the colour of a fox's fur (a bit darker perhaps) would describe it well. It reflected the morning light perfectly and for a moment it looked like it was on fire. _Wait, morning light? _I turned my head to find the source of the light when I saw that behind the shelves there were narrow windows built in the walls.

"Don't worry, they are bullet proof," she chuckled when she saw what I was looking at.

"This place really is something," I said.

"Thanks. My dad had it build when he returned from a war. He'd been a warm and gentle person before he'd been called to the army. He was never the same man after he returned though. He was paranoid and anxious all the time so he wanted to build this shelter in case an invasion happened. I wish he'd stayed the same though I'm really grateful for this place," she said with a hint of sadness in her voice. But she quickly switched to her normal and cheerful self that I got to know. "So, are you hungry? I can make some breakfast," she said while putting shoes on.

"Actually, Anna, I have to tell you something," I started.

She looked at me with a worried expression. "Yes? What is it?"

"I can't stay here," I answered.

I saw her face fell and she asked: "Why? I thought I made it clear that you can stay here for as long as you want."

"I know, I know, but I just can't. It's not my way. I have to go on. That's what I do."

"And where do you think you'll end up? I mean there's nowhere to go."

"I don't know and I don't care where I end up."

"But it's safe here! And I know that … Ah, it doesn't matter. Please, stay," she was now sitting next to me and looking at me with pleading eyes.

"And you know what?" I asked her, curious about what she didn't want to tell me.

"Really, it doesn't matter," she insisted.

"C'mon, tell me," I wasn't willing to give up so easily.

"Okay … Um, well, did you know you talk while sleeping?" she asked me sheepishly.

_Oh gods. _"I do not talk while sleeping!" I defended myself though I didn't believe my words even for a moment.

"I'm sorry but you do."

"Right. Okay." I pinched the bridge of my nose. I was trying to calm my thoughts which were darting all over my mind because of the news. "Uh, what did I say?" _Please, let it be something that would not make me want to jump from the edge of a cliff._

"Well, you were calling out for your mum and dad. And then you started crying a bit." _Perfect. Now she'll think I'm a cry baby. _"Then you started calling for someone called-what was it? Kristopher?"

"Kristoff," I sighed.

"Right, and that's when you started asking them not to leave you and that you didn't want to be alone. Just before you calmed down you told your parents that you were alone," she looked at me and when she saw I was crying she pulled herself closer to me and held my hand.

"I know you're lonely, Elsa. I know _you_ know that. But just because you have this idea of 'going on' and eventually ending up somewhere doesn't mean that you can't stay at one point. You can settle somewhere but still go on if you know what I mean," she said with a serious but at the same time caring voice. "Look, I know I can be annoying sometimes but being alone can damage you and, maybe you're not aware of it, it does affect everyone. Even you and me, so please, think again. Here you have a warm shelter, food and … well, company and I promise you, together we can make a decent living in this hell."

I couldn't help but smile at her. She was right. I was denying that I was alone even though I thought I got used to it and the idea of fighting this hell, as Anna named it, with such a kind and warm person by my side seemed like much better future than ending up somewhere alone.

"You know, with a speech like that, you could run for president. You would totally have my vote," I said, brushing my tears off.

Her face lit up in an instant. "So, is that a yes? You're staying?"

I looked at her hand which was still holding mine and then into her eyes and said: "Hella yes."

* * *

_Hey guys, I'm pleasantly surprised by the rate of response to this story so I guess I have to thank you again. (: _

___*A note for American fellows; I'm from Europe so in this case - football = soccer._


	5. Chapter IV

Chapter IV

"Here, you put the log like this and make three steps back. Then you just aim and swing." The axe landed with a thump, splitting the log into two halves. "Your turn." Anna handed me the axe and put another log on a tree stump. I made three steps back, like she'd told me to and raised the axe above my head and swung it. I missed the log and the blade of the axe sunk into the wood of the stump. This was my third attempt to cut the wood but each time the blade landed too far to the right.

"Gosh, I'm so terrible at this," I said while trying to free the axe.

"Nah, you were closer this time," Anna wasn't giving up. "Come here," she pulled my arm so I was standing in front of her. She moved closer so our bodies were touching and I couldn't help myself but feel how warm she was. She looked over my shoulder and said: "Maybe you should stand a bit more to the left." She pushed me to the side. "Perfect. Now, imagine that the log was still right in the centre and take a swing again," she said and moved away from me. I looked at her and she nodded to encourage me. Taking a deep breathe I pretended the log was still in the centre so I raised the axe once again and swung it to the log. Two pieces fell on the ground.

"Yay, you did it!" Anna bounced happily and went to grab another log.

"This really wasn't that hard as I thought it would be," I told her, feeling proud.

"I told you you could do it!" she said while putting the piece of wood on the stump. "And since you have to practice so you can master the woodcutting … Cut these, I'll carry split wood inside and then we can take a break," she pointed to a small pile of logs.

"Yes, ma'am," I saluted and she laughed.

It'd been a month since I'd decided to stay with Anna. Not for one second I regretted the choice I'd made. It was actually nice to have someone around. We spent every moment doing something. It was mostly her teaching me things, like cutting wood, or showing me how to make useful knots. When I told her I didn't know to make animal traps she would just roll her eyes at me and wondered how I survived for so long. I just laughed and told her that I had my ways. I bragged that I knew which berries would kill you and which would make a tasty tea. "But you can't live off berries," she argued.

"Oh, believe me, when you have nothing to eat, those small pearls of sugar can mean a difference between life and death," I defended myself.

I was sure that that was the moment when she decided that her main mission was to teach me how to hunt. I wasn't really excited about the idea of killing animals but since I lived in such dangerous and unpredictable times, some things were just worth to be learnt. _And it isn't like you haven't killed before_, I thought to myself when that particular scene, which included killing a person, played before my mind. That's why we'd been going to forest every day. Anna would show me how to track animals, how to find their shelters, how to make traps and where to set them. From what I'd learnt from her, I could easily say that she was very experienced in survival techniques where I was just a lucky amateur who knew where to look for cans of food and how to start a fire. I was fascinated by her ability to make useful tools from materials nature provided and to see tiny details and interpret them correctly. Like, for an example, we were tracking a trail of a hare and Anna told me it was fresh. I asked her how did she know so she took my finger and gently put it on one of the footprints. "What do you feel?" she asked.

"Um, it's cold and wet?" I answered confused.

"Exactly. Because it's cold it should be frozen but since a hare was holding still on this spot, the ice covering the ground thawed underneath its paws."

An hour later we returned to the safe room with a hare in a bag. Anna killed it with a single arrow through its chest. That was another and probably the most fascinating thing about her skills – she was a deadly archer. She could hit a moving target from a huge distance and the recurve bow was her most valuable possession and she took an extra care of it so I felt honoured when she let me hold it. And naturally, archery was another thing she wanted to teach me. Consequently, these activities were starting to form into a new routine which I was grateful for because I wasn't really fond of changes and disorder. I was starting to love this new routine. We would wake up every morning, eat breakfast, then go outside where I would take lessons on survival, or just do things that needed to be done. Then we'd go back, start a fire, eat dinner, take a bath and go to sleep. I wasn't even aware of how exhausted I was because as soon as I laid down I'd fall asleep. The best part of this routine, though, was Anna. I often caught myself looking and admiring every move she made. She was so confident in everything she did and I noticed that every time she was focused on something she would furrow her brows and stick the point of her tongue into the corner of her mouth which I found extremely adorable. And she was doing it again.

"Hey, what are you doing?" I asked when I saw she was poking her nail into her thumb, brows furrowed and the point of her tongue sticking out.

"Ah, there's a splinter stuck in my skin and I can't get it out," she answered angrily, her gaze never leaving the offending piece of wood.

I took my gloves of and approached her. "Here, let me see," I said and took her hand into mine. I held it close to my face to get a better look at her thumb. There was a tiny splinter which sunk into the skin deep enough to cause uncomfortable feeling while moving the finger. I squeezed the skin so the point of the splinter came to the surface and managed to get a grip on it and pulled it out. "Better?"

"Better," she smiled.

And then without thinking I planted a small kiss on her thumb. _What the hell am I doing?_ I was sure Anna let out a silent gasp but as soon as realized what I was doing I let her hand and put my gloves back on my own. "I, uh … I'm done here," I said and pointed to the pile of split logs. "I can help you carry the rest."

"Yeah, okay," she said and just before she turned around I saw her grinning. _She isn't angry? _I wondered and a thought about Anna not minding such contact warmed my heart.

We carried the rest of logs in silence until we were done and Anna said: "I think we deserve a break now."

"A break sounds good," I replied. She handed me a bottle of water and just then I realized how thirsty I was. I gulped down half of the content and sat down on the chair facing Anna.

"Wanna see something?" Anna asked when an awkward silence started descending on us.

"Yes, sure!" I said wondering what was it that she wanted me to see. She stood up and tilted her head as a sign for me to follow. I did and we left the safe room. This time we didn't leave the house but instead she led me through the hall to the atrium and then up the stairs. We didn't stop there and she led me further around the first floor which I never explored more before, for fear I'd be intruding Anna's privacy. Then we stopped in front of the yellow door, wonderfully decorated with flowers even though the colour was slowly fading away. Anna opened the door and we entered. Unlike the rest of the house, this room was still pretty much intact. Walls were covered with posters and frames of pictures, furniture unbroken and, what caught my attention the most, a piano in the corner next to the window.

"This is-was my room," she informed me as she sat on the chair next to the desk. She opened a drawer and pulled something out. I didn't see what though; my eyes were fixed on the piano. "Do you play?" I asked her.

"Yes, well, I used to anyway," she answered. "I don't know if it even works anymore. It's probably completely out of tune by now."

I sat on the piano bench and lifted the fall board to reveal the keyboard. I pressed a key and a sound was released. "Or it isn't," she corrected herself and stood up to sit beside me. "Do you play?" she repeated my question.

"No, but my boyfriend did," I answered. "He was really good."

"What happened to him?" she asked and knew the answer as soon as she saw my face. "It was the virus, right?"

I nodded even though that wasn't quite true but I wasn't ready to share this side of me with her. Yet another silence descended on us until Anna broke it.

"I was seven when my parents took me to the music school. I didn't like it at first but then it sort of became a part of me. I've always loved music but to be the one, who creates it, started to feel really important to me. So I played a lot. I practiced every day and my playing improved so much over years my teacher even suggested that with such devotion I could start a career as a musician. She encouraged me to start writing my own music and so I did. But before showing it to her I would always show it to mum and dad first. I and my parents would gather here once a week and I would play my music to them and they always seemed to like it. And they were so proud of me," a single tear rolled down her cheek as she continued. "Me playing to them was the only thing that stayed the same after my dad came back from war. I was never good at anything but breaking my own bones so it was like a revelation to them when I found myself in music. Well, later I'd do archery as well but I could really see myself writing and playing music, you know?" I nodded when a sad smile curved her lips. "But then the stupid virus happened and everything went to hell. Most of my neighbours ran to the city because they were sure authorities there would start an evacuation but they were wrong. There was no evacuation and none of them returned. Some of us stayed and hoped for a miracle but when the priest died we knew there was no hope. Only I and some other guy survived but he was gone as soon as his brother died …" she trailed off, fiddling with her fingers. "I buried them myself, Elsa, my parents," she sobbed and turned her head to face me. Then she leaned her forehead on my shoulder and cried. My heart was breaking and I could see my vision was getting blurred by tears. I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her into a tight embrace. "We all did," I said quietly when tears broke the dam of self-control and started running down my face. She wrapped her arms around my waist held onto me as if her life depended on it.

We sat like that for what seemed like an eternity. Tears were pouring down our faces and washing away the long oppressed feeling of loss.

When our sobbing calmed and only sniffles were heard we broke our hug and looked at each other's puffy faces. We both smiled and we knew an unspoken deal was made between us – that we would stick together no matter what.

"Would you play for me, Anna?" I asked her. She looked at me and nodded. Slowly, she turned to the keyboard and wiped her face from tears.

"Any specific wishes?" she asked absent-minded while running her fingers over the keys to feel the surface once again.

"I would like to hear your music," I whispered and a soft smile brushed her lips. There was a moment of silence when she closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. Then the sound of the most magnificent melody I have ever heard filled the room. She moved her head and body along the rhythm and it looked like she was in trance. The smile was still on her lips when I looked at her and in that moment I knew; I was in love with her.

* * *

_Wow guys, thank you for so many reviews, favs and follows; I really appreciate it! Your actions fuel my motivation. _

_Now to the hard bit; I'm sorry to disappoint everyone who thought this is a zombie apocalypse fic - it isn't. It's just a where-a-lot-of-people-die-and-everything-goes-to-hell type of an apocalypse. It will be all explained in the following chapters. So, I'm sorry again and I hope this doesn't discourage you from reading this story. _

_But if you're interested in zombies and Frozen mash-up, you should definitely read _Even at Worlds End _by __General-MeMow__which is really great and _Restless Souls _by OperationElsanna which looks promising. _


	6. Chapter V

Chapter V

"_Kristoff?"_

"_I'm here."_

"_Oh, thank gods, I've been looking for you for an hour now," I sighed with relief and sat down beside him on a bench which was standing on the furthest side of the lake. _

"_I'm sorry, Elsa. I shouldn't have run off like that," he muttered and let out a silent sob._

"_Hey, hey, it's okay, we're all scared," I said and pulled him into a tight hug. He didn't return it though and that scared me. It scared me more than the fact that we were probably all going to die – Kristoff was giving up and I could almost feel how the warmth of his soul started to drift away. It terrified me because he was always the warmest and kindest person and seeing him in this state felt like knives were stabbing my heart. It hurt a lot and I didn't know what to do. _

_We sat there for a few more minutes, I hoping that Kristoff's numbness was just a trick of my imagination, when he stood up and said: "It's getting dark, let's go inside." _

_I only nodded because I was mortified by the shiver that went down my spine and was caused by Kristoff's emotionless voice. _

"_Kristoff?"_

"_Mm?"_

"_I love you."_

_He sighed as if he was exhausted and replied: "I love you too." I knew he meant it but in that moment his words felt like surrender._

_We got back to my house and I led Kristoff to my room. He fell asleep as soon as he hit the bed. I kissed him on his forehead and lingered there for a moment, hoping he would be his old self after waking up. _

_With a last glance at my boyfriend I closed the door of my room and joined my mum on the couch. _

"_How is he doing?" she asked._

"_He's asleep," avoiding the true meaning of the question. _

"_Sweetie, you know what I mean."_

_I could feel tears welling up in my eyes when I couldn't take the weight of my emotions anymore. I knew that as soon as I'd start talking the barrier would break._

"_I–he is broken," my voice cracked at the last word and tears rolled down my cheeks. "I–I could _feel_ him g–giving up," I cried and mum wrapped her arms around me and pulled me into a hug. _

"_Shh, it's okay. Being scared or giving up is completely understandable in a situation like this. That's why we have to be strong for him. We have to show him there is still hope." _

_I buried my face into her shoulder. "We can make it right?" I asked her. Her eyes were wet with silent tears when I looked at her and she nodded. "Yes." _

_We both knew she lied. _

x

"Psst, Elsa!" There was someone shaking my shoulder lightly when I regained my senses from a sleep.

"Wake up, wake up!"

"Whaswong?" I mumbled when the person wouldn't stop bothering my sleep.

"Elsa, you have to see this!" This time the voice sounded urgent so I opened my eyes and almost let out a scream when I saw it was Anna hovering ten centimetres above my face. _She's so close … _I shook my head to get rid of the thought and to wake up completely. "What's wrong, Anna?" I asked again.

She stood up and I could see that she was barely containing a huge smile from spreading across her face. "Nothing is wrong, just get dressed quickly and I'll show you," she said, jumping and clapping her hands excitedly.

I smiled at her, happy that she was happy, and started pulling on my shoes. She threw my hoodie and a jacket into my lap. I shook my head at her and wondering what got her so excited.

"Hurry, put these on," she said as she shoved a pair of thick woollen gloves into my hands.

"Okay, okay, calm down. Did someone bring pizza?" I teased because I knew she loved pizza.

She stuck her tongue out at me and laughed: "Ha-ha, no. It's better. And stop asking questions because I don't want to spoil it for you."

When I was finally ready she grabbed my arm and almost dragged me out of the room. Before we left the house she told me to close my eyes but she caught me peeking so she pulled the hood down so couldn't see a thing. A shiver went down my body when I felt her face touching the hood right on the spot where my ear was. "I said, no peeking," she whispered and I knew there was a smirk displayed on her face. I forgot to breathe so when I exhaled loudly she giggled and said: "Relax, Elsa. I promise that whatever I have to show you won't hurt you."

I was a bit disappointed because she thought I was nervous because of the thing she wanted to show me. The truth was it was Anna who made me nervous. Since that piano afternoon my feelings for her had been escalating rapidly and I had no idea how to show them. The fact that she was so affectionate all the time didn't help at all because I was afraid that if let myself enjoy all her tiny gestures and touches, I'd show too much and she would throw me out.

"Ready?" she asked and brought me back to reality.

I simply nodded because I was too worried my voice would betray the emotional war that was going on inside me.

She held my hand and opened the door. Cold air hit my face and the smell of winter filled my nostrils. "Step carefully so you don't slip," she said while guiding me to, what I thought was, the front yard. There was a sound of the gate opening, the same one as the first day I came here.

"Where are we going?" I asked.

"Psht, we're almost there." And she wasn't lying. I was sure we stopped in the middle of the road that ran through the village. "Okay, you can look now."

I pulled the hood off my face and my vision was filled with white colour. A thick white blanket covered houses and the road and I felt like I was transferred into a whole different world. Snow was falling quietly on my face while I stared at the marvellous view and I felt a tug on my arm when Anna entwined our arms and rested her head on my shoulder. "It's beautiful," she whispered as if she didn't dare to disturb the quietness and stillness of the moment.

"Yes, it truly is," I said in equally quite voice and slowly leaned my head on the top of hers.

After, I didn't know how many, minutes passed Anna broke the silence: "Elsa?"

"Hmm?"

"Do you wanna build a snowman?" she asked with joy reflecting in her eyes.

I didn't remember when the last time I built a snowman was so the thought about making one warmed my heart. "Yes, I do wanna build a snowman," I answered. We headed back to the front yard and only then I noticed Anna shovelled a thin path in the snow so I wouldn't feel it under my feet and spoil her surprise as we walked to the road. _This girl really is devoted to everything she does,_ I thought to myself. Anna noticed the smile that rested on my lips and asked: "What's so funny?"

"Oh, nothing, I'm just enjoying this," I said and Anna's grin grew wider.

"I'm glad you are. Now, let's get started," she said and started making the base snow ball. I quickly joined her and started building the middle snow ball. When we were done we noticed Anna's ball was smaller than mine so we decided mine would be the base. She put her ball on the top of mine and said: "The head is missing."

"Yeah, I noticed. Let's see what I can do about it and maybe you could go and find some stones for eyes and buttons."

"I'm on it!" she exclaimed and ran to the other side of the yard. Meanwhile I carefully sculptured the head for the snowman. It was a bit oddly shaped but I liked it and when Anna returned with stones and some branches in her hands agreed that it looked great.

"I couldn't find anything for a nose though," she said sadly and dropped the material on the ground.

"It's okay, it will be perfect anyway," I assured her and started sticking stones into the snow balls. Anna did the same with the branches. When we were done we took a few steps back to get a better look at our creation. "It's perfect!" I said.

"Almost perfect," Anna corrected me but this time without the sadness in her voice. "What should we call it?" she asked.

"Hmm, I think Olaf would suit him well," I suggested.

"Yes, Olaf sounds great!" she agreed. "And he loves warm hugs."

"And summer," I added. We laughed at the irony of this even though it sort of made sense. I didn't notice Anna was gone until my laughter faded away. "Anna?" She didn't answer but then again she didn't have to since a cold snow ball hit my stomach and I had an idea who threw it. "So you wanna play, Anna?" I asked and started making my snow ball. Right after I stood up another snow missile flew past my face, missing it by centimetres. "You know, for a master archer you suck at aiming," I teased and regretted it immediately when a ball hit the back of my head.

"My aim is great, thank you very much." I turned around and saw Anna standing a couple of metres behind me with a victorious smirk displayed on her face.

"Oh, come here now, you little snow monster, I have something to feed you with," I said playfully and when Anna saw that I had a snowball in my hand she ran. I darted after her and I was chasing her until she abruptly turned around and raised her arms above her head. "I surren–ugh." I didn't have enough time to stop so I crashed directly into her and we fell into the snow.

"Oh my gods, Anna, are you okay?" I asked, searching her face for any signs of pain.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have stopped like that. And yes, I'm okay, are you hurt?"

Relieved that she was fine I laughed. "No, I'm not hurt and I'm sorry for tackling you like this." Only then I realized that I was still on top of her, my hands on the each side of her head and my legs straddling her hips. I slowly turned my gaze to face her. She was biting her lower lip and her eyes bore into mine. I felt a sudden and strong urge to kiss her. _What if she doesn't want it?_ The look on her face told me otherwise. _Screw you, brain, _I thought to myself as I started closing the gap between mine and Anna's lips.

_Crack. _

"What was that?" Anna asked and we both turned our heads to the source of the noise.

"Wait here," I told her while standing up. I grabbed the shovel which was leaning against the fence and started approaching the part where bushes grew. There was a sudden movement when the intruder started to run. "Open the gates," I yelled and ran towards the part where the fence would open. Just as I went through Anna realized what I was doing. "Elsa, stop! What are you doing?!"

But she was too late to stop me. I charged after the person who discovered our haven and, even worse, our existence. I could hear Anna running after me but she was slower than me – I was filled with adrenaline and fear.

My mind was focused solely on the intruder who was smaller than me. _Good, when I catch him he won't stand a chance against me._ We ran through the village and ended up on fields covered with thick layer of snow. I started breathing heavier and my muscles started to burn but that didn't stop me and the fact that the person running from me was getting tired too fuelled me. I was so close I could almost hear laboured breathing in front of me but I was about to stop when I realized where we were heading. The intruder didn't flinch though and ran straight to the frozen river. I wasn't left with other choice but to follow them and hoping the ice was thick enough to carry my weight. But it wasn't. A loud noise filled my ears when a web of cracks started to grow beneath my feet. _Fuck, this is bad, this is really, really bad. _Just before the ground beneath me opened I caught a glimpse of the person I was pursuing standing on the other side of the river. The person hesitated for a moment before turning back and disappearing into the forest. And then cold consumed me. I fell into the freezing water and all I could feel was pain. _Like a million needles, no, knives stabbing every part of my body. _I was almost lost in it when I remembered that I have to move to escape it. I pushed myself from the bottom and gasped for air when I hit the surface. I tried to grab something to hold on and to get away from the cold but my hands were numb and could feel myself slipping back into the pit of ice. Just when my head was about to sink back into the water I felt I was being dragged up.

"Goddammit, Elsa, you're so heavy," I heard Anna's voice coming from behind me when she pulled me out.

"I–I–I'm s–sorry," I managed to whisper through my clattering teeth.

I didn't know if she heard me because she started to pull off my wet jacket and hoodie. Gloves and shirt followed and I was beginning to worry she was so angry at me she wanted to quicken the process of freezing. I realized how wrong I was when she started to undress herself, she kept the sweater, and put her shirt and warm winter jacket on me. She covered my head with her beanie and the hood; she was so quick I didn't know when she managed to get her gloves on my hands. Then we started to walk.

"A–A–A–Anna, y–y–you're g–g– …"

"Shut up," she interrupted me angrily. "Don't you dare saying a word right now. Do you know how terribly scared I was? Do you even realize I almost died when I saw you struggling to keep your head above the surface?"

"I–I–I'm …"

"I said, shut up!" she interrupted me once again. "I'm so pissed at you, you know? I told you to stop, but no, you decided to ignore me! Tell me, what would you have gained if you caught that person, huh? No, no, don't say a word, because I know the answer; fucking nothing!" I managed to get a glimpse at her face and what I saw broke my heart broke. She was crying. _Because of me._ I wanted to apologize, to make it better but she wouldn't let me.

"Dammit, you're so cold," she said and rubbed my arms. I was so overwhelmed by her display of anger I almost forgot I was freezing cold and that my body was going through violent shaking. We walked the rest of the way in silence and by the time we reached the back door of her house I couldn't feel my feet and hands anymore.

"Wait here," she ordered and pushed me on the chair. She dragged my mattress closer to the fire place. Then she grabbed blankets and dry clothes and threw them on my bed and walked over to me. "Come now," she said and helped me standing up. I sat down on mattress and she started pulling off my shoes and pants. Then she reached higher and when I realized what she was about to do I managed to back away a bit but the glare she sent in my direction stopped me from moving, well except for the violent shaking. I knew I would be blushing horribly if I wasn't that cold when she took my panties off and replaced them with dry ones; she did the same with the rest of my clothes. I was still freezing and shivering when she laid me down and wrapped me into several blankets. Then she started the fire and when she looked at me her expression was a worried one. I tried to apologize once again but she cut me off as soon as I opened my mouth. "You're gonna bite your tongue off if you keep trying to talk."

She sat by me for a few minutes when I heard her sigh. "This isn't working." Then she stood up and walked away. I was left in silence; the only thing I could hear was my clattering teeth and sharp uneven breathing.

To say I was shocked when I felt a body pressed flush against mine would be an understatement. Anna lifted the blankets which were covering my body and pressed herself against me. She wrapped her arms around me and took my cold hands into her warm ones and held me tight. I could already feel her warmth starting to roll over my body and making me drowsy. It didn't last more than a few minutes when I fell asleep.

* * *

_Wow, I mean WOW, thank you guys for all the support you're showing. I know I'm thanking a lot but I can't and won't stop doing it because you deserve to know how grateful I am for your favs, follows and reviews._

_Now, to some of you, I can't spoil the story so I guess you'll just have to keep up with it and see how it goes. :)_


	7. Chapter VI

Chapter VI

A hand stroking my hair gently woke me up from a warm and comfortable sleep. I chuckled at the thought that I had been sleeping a lot lately though I didn't mind it at all.

"What's funny?" Anna's voice travelled from behind me. My mind, still clouded with grogginess, prevented me from remembering the smaller girl's body wrapping my own so when I turned around to face her my hand brushed skin of her stomach.

"Nothing, I just realized I've become such a sleepyhead," I mumbled, my eyes still closed.

Anna laughed at my answer. "I guess you're feeling better now?"

"Yes, I am, thank you." And then the memories from a few hours before flooded my mind. Anna's excitement when she dragged me to show the landscape covered with a thick white blanket, us building a snowman and getting into a snow fight, me almost kissing Anna, _oh gods, I almost kissed her … _And then the moment which prevented me from doing so, the chase, cold that caused so much pain and then Anna saving my life.

I opened my eyes and my gaze was captured in those beautiful teal eyes. I gulped and started apologizing. "Anna … I'm so sorry, it was stupid of me to run after that guy like that, I should have thought things through but I was scared for you and now they know about this place."

"You were scared for me?" she asked in a hushed tone.

_Damn, I said it out loud, didn't I? _"Well, um, yes … Yes, I was because I care about you, Anna …" my voice trailed off as I was anxiously waiting for her response. What she did next though was _not _an expected action.

Anna leaned closer to me with one quick glance at my eyes and pressed her soft lips to mine. _Holy shit, she's kissing me! She's kissing me! … Don't just lay there like a dumbass, do something! _This was one of the rare occasions where my brain would actually say something useful. And it was one of the rare occasions where I would listen to it. So I kissed her back, tentatively at first, too scared that my emotions would erupt like a long sleeping volcano but when her lips started to move faster I responded with same eagerness. She stroked my hair and her hand slid on the back of my head and pulled me even closer. I lifted my shaking arm to wrap it around her waist but when I made contact with her bare skin I yanked it back and broke the kiss.

"Elsa?"

I was blushing furiously. I lifted the blanket that was still covering us just to get a confirmation of my presumptions. The realization threw me out of Anna's embrace and I landed flatly on the floor next to our improvised bed. "You–you're naked," I said and with that I blushed even more.

"Oh, right, though I have my bra and panties on …" it was her who was blushing now. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to freak you out. It's just I didn't know what to do anymore … You were freezing and the fire and blankets weren't enough," she explained with a shy smile on her lips.

"That's alright, you … Just caught me by surprise. I wasn't expecting that," I said and started pulling myself back onto the mattress. "I guess we're even now."

"What do you mean?" she asked confused.

"Well, I saved your life, you saved mine. And I can't even express how grateful I am."

"I would do it all again. Including the naked part," she said and we started laughing. I laid down beside her so our faces were very close. "I really like you, Elsa."

A huge grin stretched across my face. "I really like you too, Anna." I cradled her cheek and ran a thumb across her freckled skin. Once again she leaned closer and captured my lips with hers for the second time. This time I didn't hesitate and returned the kiss immediately. We kissed faster this time, rougher, and when Anna's tongue licked my lips, asking for a permission to enter my mouth, I parted them as it was the most natural thing to do. Our tongues danced, played and explored as we deepened the kiss. A quiet moan escaped my throat when Anna's hand slid down my back and touched a sliver of exposed skin above the waistband of my pants. I felt her smile against my lips and just when she started to pull up my shirt a loud growl escaped her stomach. She pulled herself away and started blinking at me with the most innocent eyes I had ever seen until I couldn't resist it anymore and burst into an uncontrollable laughter. "I guess–I guess you stomach–has other ideas!" She joined me and soon we were rolling around in laughter and clutching our bellies.

"I'm sorry but–but I haven't had my breakfast yet," she said breathlessly as we calmed a bit.

"C'mon, let's get you something to eat," I said and pulled her up. "And some clothes," I added when the blanket slid of her almost completely exposed body.

"For how long have I been asleep?" I asked while Anna was pulling on her clothes.

"I don't know, but I don't think it's past midday," she answered, trying not to fall as she struggled to put a sock on her foot while standing on one leg. "I guess we'll have a lunch today."

"I don't mind having a lunch," I said happily.

"Okay, I'll get some meat and you can warm some soup since the fire is already on."

I wanted to say something about the fire being lit during the daytime but it didn't really matter anymore; it was snowing so you had to stand really close to the house to see the smoke rolling out of the chimney.

I heard Anna opening the hatch and leaving the room, murmuring a song I think I recognized. I just couldn't get it out of my head how adorable, beautiful and full of life she was. It was impossible not to love her. And I couldn't believe she actually cared for me, the lost and shy girl, too.

With the happy thoughts swimming around in my mind I automatically opened the storage and grabbed a can of soup from the shelf. I tore off the seal and poured the content into a metal pot which was hanging above the fire place and started stirring. Then I heard footsteps descending the stairs. Without turning around I said: "Hey, Anna, I've been think–"

"Elsa …"

The way she said my name sent a cold shiver through my spine.

"Anna, what's wrong?" I asked while turning around. I stopped dead in my tracks. Anna was slowly approaching me. But she wasn't alone; two men were holding her hostage as she entered the room. A guy behind her was gripping her arm and held a knife at her throat. The other one was standing in shadows so I couldn't get a good look at his face.

"Well, well, well, who do we have here," said a voice from the shadows, which I thought for a moment sounded familiar.

"Let her go or I swear I'll make you suffer for laying your fucking hands on her," I snared angrily at the guy with the knife, ignoring the other one. Anna whimpered as he tightened the grip and I almost couldn't resist from jumping at him and stabbing that knife into his guts. I was angry, frustrated and afraid at the same time because I didn't know what to do.

"Psht, we aren't here to negotiate, Elsa, so you don't give orders here," said the guy who was standing in the darkness.

"What do you want then? Food? Water? We have it, you can take, just, please, don't hurt her," I said with a more human tone now.

"Oh, Elsa, we aren't here for that too," he continued. I stared at the faceless man, confusion reflecting in my eyes. "Don't you see? I'm here for _you._" And with that he stepped out of the shadow. The light gave a face to the man who for unknown reason wanted me. But when I recognized him, I knew why.

_This isn't possible. This can't be possible. _A tall man with a chestnut beard was grinning at me with a hideous smile.

_He was dead. _I _killed him. I _saw_ him die. _The man I saw dying because of me was standing now beside Anna running a finger across her cheek. The man I stopped from doing a horrible thing to the girl I loved was now touching her skin again. Silent tears were now running down Anna's cheeks.

"Don't touch her!" I growled and made a step towards him. I was seeing red now. _This isn't fucking happening._

"You know, Elsa, when you try to kill someone, always double check, you know … Just to be sure," his fingers stopped on her chin and then he dropped his arm to his side.

I didn't even care anymore how he survived a bullet to his head; all that mattered was saving Anna from this psycho. "What the hell do you want?" I couldn't hide my anger.

"I've already told you," he answered in a calm tone and suddenly he was standing just a few centimetres from my face. "I want you."

"Okay, take me, but leave her alone," I said while trying to match the calmness of his voice.

"Elsa, no!" Anna cried, struggling with her captor. He pressed the knife deeper into her skin and whispered something into her ear.

The red-bearded man chuckled. "You have a really bad memory, Elsa. I told you I'm not here to negotiate. The girl is coming with us too," he said in a serious voice that didn't allow and objections.

"Hans?" it was the guy with the knife who spoke now.

Hans merely nodded once without looking at him as if he was giving him a signal for something. Then he raised his knife and hit the back of Anna's head with the hilt of his weapon and she fell unconscious.

"Ann–hmpf …" Before I could let out the cry, Hans muffled my voice with his hand and with one swift move turned me around so my back was facing him. And then something hard hit the back of my head and I fell into an endless darkness.

x

_Days grew darker as if the sky knew something bad was happening. Air was thick with anxiety and melancholy and even birds seemed to sing their songs differently – sad tones were intertwined with the summer melodies. _

_More and more often I found Kristoff staring absently into distant nothing. Every single time I tried to get close to him he would just sigh and excuse himself. It hurt me a lot. His distance was like cancer spreading deeper into my body with each passed day. No matter how hard I tried to comfort him he refused any kind of affection. _

_Kristoff I knew was slowly leaving. I could still remember the first time we met. It was at the national swimming championship. I was a competitor and he was there supporting his best friend Sven who was on the same team as I. I knew Sven well, he was a quiet but kind person, just like I was, so we had been friends ever since I joined the team. _

_Kristoff approached us to wish Sven good luck. Then Sven introduced us and I immediately felt a connection being established between us. He was new in town so I offered myself to give him a tour and he happily accepted it. We had been inseparable since then. We hung out at school, went home together and played games together. He always let me win at least twice a day even though I told him not to do it because I wanted a victory to be deserved. He was always positive, optimistic about everything and he smiled a lot. And I loved his smile so it was hard seeing him like this now, broken and without any strength to fight. _

"_People are angry and scared, they started rioting," I heard my dad talking to mum. "Authorities won't start evacuations because the virus is spreading uncontrollably now and there's no way to keep sick people under observation. There are just too many of them."_

"_But can't they see that that isn't a solution?" mum asked. "People being so close together will only make it worse."_

"_They are desperate …" he sighed. "They know we have close to zero chances to survive. And when people see no escape from things that hurt them they fight back. They start anarchy. Even army is failing to contain peace."_

_I coughed quietly to let them know about my presence in the room. "Oh, honey, I didn't know you were standing there," my mum said when she noticed I was leaning at the wall in the kitchen._

"_Shouldn't we prepare ourselves or something?" I asked._

"_We did what we could, Elsa, we have enough food for a year and we aren't completely defenceless. I've bought some weapons in case things get bad here."_

_I nodded even though I didn't know what to think anymore. The only reason I kept myself from falling apart was my boyfriend but he was now a stranger, his thoughts distant and unreachable and what was going to happen to me if this stranger was gone?_

* * *

_Hi, it's me again. First of all, thank you all for leaving a review and following/favouring my story. I still can't believe you actually like it. Second of all ... Actually, there's no second of all. There's just getting straight to the business. So, I'm starting with the second semester tomorrow which means *sobs quietly* I won't have much time for writing since the schedule is a bitch this time. Damn, and I just got the hang of it. Anyway, I promise I will update as regularly as possible. Meanwhile, stay cool. :)  
_


	8. Chapter VII

_Trigger warning: this chapter contains a mild torture scene. _

* * *

Chapter VII

I was moving fast. At least I thought so. The landscape was running and passing before my eyes. _Pine tree, pine tree, pine tree, oak tree, pine tree, oak tree, oak tree … _Not until sharp pain pierced the back of my skull I managed to gather my thoughts and notice that I was actually in a car. The road was neglected so when tires hit a deep hole in the ground my head bumped into the window. I groaned from another source of pain and I wanted to put a hand on the spot where a growing bump was, but something was restraining my arm from moving. "What the–" I looked down at my tied arms and then memories hit me with a mighty force. "Anna …" I turned my head to the left and almost jumped in my seat from fear when I saw Anna leaning back in the seat, her eyes closed and blood strains on the side of her neck.

"Good morning, sleepyhead," said Hans, turning around from the front passenger seat to face me. I looked at him with the wildest expression I could muster. "Let us go," I growled.

"You know that's not happening," he replied. I turned my attention back to Anna whose arms were tied as well. "Anna, please wake up," I whispered quietly, ignoring Hans' mocking laugh. Because of the constant shaking of the vehicle I couldn't see whether she was breathing or not.

"She's alive … Greg here," he pointed to the driver, "wouldn't disobey my orders." I didn't know what kind of super human this guy was because he survived a head-shot and he just answered my unspoken question.

"What do you want from me?" I asked even though I knew he wanted revenge for me shooting him down and saving Anna.

"I think you already know," he said with a weird glow in his eyes.

I gulped. He's going to hurt me. He's probably going to kill me then. But I could take that. I could endure pain as long Anna was safe, though chances for that were close to zero. "Then why do you need her?" I asked, hoping he would think things through and let her go.

"Don't worry, Anna will play her role too."

My stomach was turning. I wanted to scream and yell and rip this man apart for even thinking about hurting the girl. "Please, don't hurt her, please, I'll do anything, just leave her alone …" I begged.

An evil grin spread across his face. "Oh, Elsa, I am going to enjoy this so much," he said and with that he turned away.

I was numb, hopeless, my heart was falling apart at the thought of not being able to save Anna. I didn't care about myself anymore, all that mattered was her safety. _We have to run, we have to escape this maniac, _I thought to myself and in that moment that became my primary mission. To get us away. My eyes were blurred with tears though I didn't let them roll down my face. I didn't want Hans to know how weak I really was because I wanted to be strong, strong for Anna, strong to fight for her freedom.

A quiet groan on my left brought me back from my thoughts. Anna opened her eyes full of confusion and when she noticed Hans staring back at her, her expression changed to one filled with fear. Hans didn't say anything; he just let out a small chuckle and turned away.

"Anna," I whispered quietly so only she could hear me. She turned her gaze to me and locked her eyes on mine. She was looking at me with hope and I didn't want to let her down so I mouthed: "You're gonna be okay." She didn't do anything but stare at me for a while. Then she simply nodded and smiled sadly to confirm she believed my words. _If only I believed them … _

The car suddenly stopped. _No, no, no, it's too soon. I don't have a plan yet,_ I was starting to panic when Greg and Hans left the car and opened doors on my and Anna's side. But before they dragged us out I could hear say: "_We're_ going to be okay." I looked at her and a new determination was reflecting in her eyes which fuelled me with bravery.

"C'mon, get out," Greg growled at Anna who was struggling to stay in the vehicle but failed because the man was heavy and much stronger. I couldn't help myself but let a small smile stretch across my lips while watching Anna causing trouble. _We aren't giving up so easily, you dumb fools. _

"Ah, here we are," said Hans, inhaling deeply. I took a look of where exactly were we.

We were standing in front of a small cabin centred in the middle of a clearing surrounded by forest. There was another car parked next to the one we drove in. The ground was covered with snow, mixed with dirt as if it was a battlefield and what I noticed next made my heart stop for a second. There was blood. A lot of it. Before I knew what was happening I found myself standing inside the cabin. There were two more people, apparently waiting for our arrival, standing in the room. One was a tall brunette with almost black irises which pierced my eyes with such malice I actually felt a small amount of pain forming behind my eyes. Turning my gaze away from her I looked at the other person who was a huge beardy man, big as a bear and didn't seem interested in two new guests.

"Let me rip her heart out, Hans," the woman snarled with hate radiating from every single word. _Who is she talking about?_

"You know she's mine, Jess," was Hans' response. "She almost killed me."

"I don't fucking care! She killed my _son_!" she screamed with a finger pointing at me.

_What?_

"If you don't behave Jess, I'll have you removed. I promised you will get a piece of her, but she's _mine,_" he glared at her intensely to inform her it was the end of the discussion.

"What the hell are you two talking about?! I obviously didn't kill anyone!" I said looking at Hans and the woman flinched at the sound of my voice, barely restraining herself from jumping at my throat.

"Don't lie!" she shouted. "You killed my boy!"

_This woman is crazy. _I was staring at her with disbelief. I had no idea what she was talking about.

"Elsa didn't kill anyone." Anna's voice was firm as she continued. "Though I wish she did," she continued looking boldly into Hans' eyes. With that she deserved a slap from Greg.

"Don't touch her!" I yelled at the man, trying to kick him but Hans was gripping my tied arms firmly so there was no way I could reach him.

"And who are you? Elsa's little whore?" the mad woman spat and approached Anna, whose lip was bleeding from the blow. "I bet you helped her murder my boy," she hissed into Anna's face. _Get the fuck away from her!_

"Look, I don't know what happened to your son but I swear I didn't kill him," I said drawing Jess' attention back to me.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" she laughed. "Hans, why don't you refresh her memory?"

Hans let out a small chuckle, obviously enjoying the fight going on between us. He leaned closer to my ear and cold settled in my body. "Do you remember the boy who was going to have his first time with this young lady?" he pointed at Anna and memories from the barn came rushing back into my mind. "Well, you ruined it by showing up and shooting me." With that he took off a cap which covered his head and revealed an aggressive pink scar stretching right above his right ear.

"Yeah, so what? I shot you but I didn't shoot him! I let him go!" I hissed back.

"You did much more than that. When I fell unconscious you thought I was dead. So did Rob." His voice grew cold when he mentioned the boy's name. "And Rob loved me like his brother and the thought of me being dead devastated him. By killing me you killed him. He got lost and died because of hypothermia. The boy was lost without me!" He yelled the last words into my ear and I jumped from surprise and shock.

"Maybe if you used your time for teaching the boy about survival skills and not how to rape women, he'd be still alive," I said and with that I earned a punch into my stomach.

"Elsa! No!" Anna cried. I couldn't look at her because force of the impact spread across my belly and all I could see was stars dancing before my eyes while I was sinking down on my knees because of the pain.

"Get them down to the basement," Hans said and a new pair of arms lifted and almost carried me down the stairs to the door on the other side of the room. The bear guy dropped me on the floor and Anna tripped over me when Greg pushed her in after me. Then the door was closed and locked and we were trapped in an empty room without windows or any other source of light. We were in complete darkness.

"Elsa?" I heard Anna call my name.

"I'm here, Anna," I responded while trying to sit up with arms still tied.

I heard her kneel beside me. "I'm so sorry, Elsa," she said, her voice trembling. "This is all my fault. If I was more cautious, I would have heard them and have time to run and warn you …" She was crying now and I couldn't believe what she was saying.

"Anna, no. This isn't your fault! How can you say that?" I moved closer to her so our knees were touching. "It doesn't make sense because it was Hans in the first place who started all this. He and his disgusting needs. So don't say it's your fault ever again." She sniffed and let out a quiet cry. I wanted to hug her so badly, to comfort her but the god damn ties didn't let me to do so. There was only one thing left I could do to at least try to make her feel better. "I love you, Anna, and I swear to sun and stars that I will try to get you out from here."

Silence filled the room. Another sniff.

"You–you love me?"

"Yes, I do."

There was more silence. The only thing I could hear was beating of my heart. It was crashing wildly into my ribcage. I was sure Anna heard it too.

"You're not saying goodbye, are you?" she whispered with fear in her voice.

I shook my head even though she couldn't see me. "No, I _will _get you out of here. I love you," I repeated.

"Good, because I love you too," she said and pressed her lips on my jaw. "Damn, I can't see a thing. Hold still, I want to kiss you properly," she said while kissing my cheek and getting closer to my lips. Finally she caught my lips and we shared a slow kiss full of love and hope. At least one minute passed when we broke apart and rested our foreheads against each other's.

"I don't know how but somehow we're going to make it … Together," said Anna.

"Together," I agreed.

The sound of a key being turned in the lock destroyed our moment of apparent safety.

The bear guy entered the room and looked at us expressionless. "Take the blonde one," said Hans, standing outside.

"No, no, no, leave her alone," said Anna and stood up with one swift movement, occupying the space between me and the bear man.

"Anna, no!"

"Move," he growled in a deep and harsh voice. He pushed her aside with his huge hand with such easiness it seemed like Anna was made of paper. Then he grabbed my arms and started pulling me towards the door.

"Let her go!" Anna yelled and started kicking. He didn't seem to notice her attempts to stop him because he just continued dragging me out.

"Anna, I'll be okay," I said to calm her down even though we both knew I was lying. Before Hans closed the door I took a last glimpse at her flushed and terrified face.

_Slap! _

Jess slapping my face was the first thing that hit me after entering the room. She was grinning madly and her eyes were glazed with something completely foreign to me.

"You're so eager, Jess," laughed Hans. "You don't have to rush, we have time." But she didn't listen to him. She just stepped closer and grabbed my chin. "You're gonna pay for every second of pain I felt," she hissed and released my face.

"I did not kill your son!" I yelled back at her.

She ignored me and indicated towards the chair which stood in the middle of the room. I was dragged towards it and the bear man pushed me down so I was sitting on it. And then she slapped me again. And again. And again. My cheeks were burning by the time I heard someone laughing and it was Greg who spoke this time. "You have to do better than this if you want some effect."

"Shut up! I'm warming up," she sneered at him. Then her hands twisted into fists and one of them landed hard against my cheek. The pain was worse this time. It hurt more. But I didn't respond. I was going to endure this. Another fist collided with my jaw. And another with my lips; I could taste blood in my mouth. I looked at the mad woman, who blamed me for death of her perverted son, then I looked at Hans who watched the scene with a satisfied smile resting on his lips.

Jess was breathing heavily by the time she stopped punching me. I couldn't feel my face anymore and my right eye was so swollen only a thin sliver of light managed to reach my pupil.

There was a sound of a car approaching the cabin. Everyone, including Jess turned their heads toward the window.

"Something's wrong," said Greg and pulled out a gun. Hans did the same and walked over to the front door. Someone knocked on the door and a muffled voice reached us. "Hans, open the door."

Apparently, Hans knew that person so he lowered the gun and opened the door.

"Duke," Hans greeted a small, skinny man whose hair was turning white.

"We have a situation, Hans."

"What's wrong?"

"There was a security breach in the southern part of the town. Three guards were knocked out and another one is missing."

"And the hostages?"

There was a pause. "Gone," said Duke fearfully.

"Fucking … Fuck!" Hans growled furiously and threw his arms into the air. "Paul, you're coming with me," he said to the bear guy after a short pause. "Jess, Greg, you two stay here." They both nodded. "And Jess, don't take it _too _far."

She smiled slyly. "Don't worry, she'll be alive when you come back …" _Barely._ I could hear the unspoken word floating in the air somewhere and I gulped loudly.

Then the three men left and Jess was standing before me with a knife in her hand.

* * *

_Hey, it's me again! Thank you for taking your time and reading my story. It's wonderful to know that all hours I've spent typing weren't wasted._

_**IMPORTANT**: one of the readers noticed a significant mistake in two of my chapters which might have left some of you confused. The story and flashbacks are supposed to be completely from Elsa's POV but as it happened, I made two of those Anna's for which I deeply apologize. It's really embarrassing. So please forgive me for being dumb and oblivious. I fixed the mistake __and updated the chapters along with this one. _

_I expect to post a new chapter at the end of the weekend. _


	9. Chapter VIII

Chapter VIII

No, no, no, no, not now, this isn't happening, this is not happening.

"_Elsa, stay away!" yelled dad at me, his voice breaking at the last word. He was holding my mum's head while she was having some sort of a seizure. _Please, don't let it be the virus, please …

"_But dad, I want to help!" I cried because I didn't know what to do with myself._

_My mum had been feeling sick for hours and at first we thought it was just flu or something like that but as soon as she started vomiting and having seizures we knew it was something worse. The symptoms were all indicating an infection with the "super-virus". I was blinding myself with the thought that such infection was impossible because we'd been isolated from people since the riots had started, maybe even longer, so we had no contact of whatsoever with the virus._

"_Get me some cold water and a towel. I have to stop her body temperature from rising." I nodded and ran to the kitchen to grab a bowl and fill it with cold water. I returned to dad as quickly as possible while trying not to spill the water all over the place._

"_Here," I put the bowl on the small table next to dad, far enough from mum who was still going through a seizure though spasms were getting less frequent by each passing second. I soaked the towel with water and twisted it. Dad stretched his arm towards me so I handed him the wet piece of cloth._

"_Thanks. Now, back away," he murmured and pressed the towel on mum's forehead. I didn't go away though, I sat on the chair and watched, hoping for a new order or task from dad just so I had something to do. _

_When I thought situation couldn't get worse, my dad collapsed and fell on the floor. My heart stopped beating. My mind was blank. It was just like on the television. People falling down one by one as if someone had a switch and they decided to turn them off. I was sure it would hit me as well but I didn't care. I wanted to wake up my father, to make my mother healthy once again. Somehow I managed to crawl to the couch where my mum was laying. She was still breathing and her eyes were closed. Then I looked back at dad, grabbed him by the shoulders and shook him._

"_Dad? C'mon dad, wake up!" I cried. "Dad, please, I'm scared …" It was all in vain. He was dead as soon as he hit the floor. _

"_Elsa?"_

_I looked up at mum who was barely awake, struggling for every breath she took. "Mum! Please, mum, don't leave me!" I couldn't hold tears back anymore._

"_I'm sorry …"_

"_But I don't understand, you said we were safe here! Dad said we would be okay if we stayed away from people …" She shushed me with a shaky finger against my lips._

"_Elsa, listen to me. You can survive this. You and Kristoff will be okay."_

"_How you know? We are inf–"_

"_Psht, you can get through this! Just stay away from people, okay? Times will change, don't trust anyone …" Her body shook with violent coughing and I noticed her sputum was filled with blood. "Don't trust anyone, okay?" she repeated after the coughing calmed down. _

"_Mum, I want to go with you …" My mind was spinning and I was so scared of what was about to happen._

"_No, stay alive. That's my last wish. Please, stay alive." She cupped my cheek with a trembling hand and smiling one more time. "I love you, sweetie, your father and I are so proud of you." _

_I whimpered, my vision blurred with tears, and hugged her. I didn't want to let her go. I didn't want to be alone when the stupid virus feasted on my brain. I didn't want to go through all of the pain my mother had to endure; I hoped it would hit me fast. _

_And then her breathing stopped. I was staring at her chest intensely, waiting for another movement as a sign she was still alive. But another breath never came. I was left alone. _You're not alone, you have Kristoff. _With that thought in my mind I kissed my mum's forehead and then dad's to say goodbye and sprinted to my room, hoping desperately he was okay. When I reached the door I hesitated for a moment before grabbing the door knob with my trembling hand. I fell on my knees. I was prepared for anything but this._

"_Kristoff, please, don't do it," I whispered, my eyes locked on the gun that was resting in his hand._

"_I'm so sorry, Elsa, I'm a coward and I can't live like this. I–I don't–want to get killed b–by something I can't even–see," he choked on his words, tears rushing down his face. "I'm sorry about your parents …" he said more firmly. Then he lifted his gun and pointed it to his temple. "Go away, I don't want you to see this."_

"_Damn it, Kristoff, put the gun down!" I yelled at him, hoping he would listen to me._

_He just shook his head. "It's over, Elsa, we are all going to die." I sprang to my feet to prevent the inevitable but I was too late._

_He already pulled the trigger. _

x

I couldn't hold back the scream that was piercing my insides from the moment the blade made contact with my skin.

"Don't you faint, you hear me? Don't you fucking faint, I'm not done with you yet," the crazy woman sneered with madness reflecting in her eyes. She was holding my hair, by that point it didn't even hurt, and pulled me so close to her face our noses were almost touching. I didn't say anything, I kept staring at her with one functional eye without showing any emotion. My voice was the only thing that betrayed my suffering.

"_Elsaaaaa! Damn you bastards, leave her alone!"_ I heard Anna yelling and pounding on the door with such force I thought she was going to break it down.

"Feisty pants your girlfriend is, huh?" said Jess with an evil grin.

"_You stupid bitch, if you keep hurting her, I swear I'm gonna impale you on the first thing I lay my hands on!" _Anna continued her assault on the door.

Jess just rolled her eyes at this and sighed. "Shut her up," she said to Greg and he stood up and walked across the room to the door that led to the basement. Now it was my turn to yell.

"No! Anna! Stay away from her!" Despite pain that consumed my entire body I found some strength to try and buckle myself out of ties but they were too strong. It only caused more damage to my sore wrists which were tied on the arms of the chair.

"AAAAArgh! Shit!" I looked down on my thigh where a new source of pain was added to my agony. There was a knife sticking out of my leg and I could feel warm blood slowly soaking my pants. Jess was laughing madly. "You're not going anywhere."

"_Elsaaa! Please, stop hurting her!" _Anna pleaded.

_When did it come to this? _My mind was fogged with pain but I could still remember my determination to get Anna out of here. But I was drained from all will and strength. And because of that I was ashamed of myself. Shame burnt me like hellfire and the pain that was caused by it could be easily compared to the one my body felt. _It's happening again and this time it's me who's giving up. _I wasn't able to do anything to prevent Greg from entering that room.

But someone knocking on the door was. Silence filled the room and even Anna's pounding on the door ceased as if she sensed something was going on. Greg turned around, waiting for Jess' orders. She said nothing but shook her head towards the front door of the cabin. They both drew their guns out and waited for … _What exactly? _Greg slowly approached the door and stretched his left arm to grab the door knob. Jess nodded when he glanced at her and took a deep breath. Then he opened the door in a blink of eye.

The porch was empty. No one was out there so Greg lowered his gun and turned to face Jess.

"It must have been some stupid squirrel or I don't know what goddam animal hitting the d–"

There was a loud thump and the man fell on the floor, unconscious. The hooded person who hit him with the handle of the rifle was now standing under the door frame, his AK-47 pointed at Jess. There were three other people standing behind him, all of them carrying their own guns and rifles.

"Put the gun down," he said slowly. It brought me so much satisfaction, seeing the mad woman with a scared expression displayed on her bloody face.

She lowered the gun and eventually dropped it. She knew she stood no chance against four people. The hooded guy entered the room and started searching for something. The other three people followed him. "Where's the Mad-dog?" he stopped before my capturer.

"W–who?" asked Jess with a trembling voice.

"Hans. Where's Hans?" he asked calmly.

"I–I–I don't know, h–he left," she answered sheepishly.

"Damn it! Peter, you said the Mad-dog was here," the hooded man said, his gaze never leaving Jess' face. A boy with reddish hair and green hat answered: "I'm sorry, Flynn, I swear he was still here half an hour ago." His shoulders slumped and he tightened his grip on the MP5.

Flynn sighed and pulled back the hood which revealed his brown hair and a stern face. "It doesn't matter, you've done well. We have to work on our communication system more though." Peter's face brightened up a bit at Flynn's praise. "Punz, take care of the girl, Oaken, keep an eye on the Mad-dog's bitch, Peter, you're coming with me," the brunette man called orders and everyone did as they were told.

A thin woman with short, brown hair kneeled before me and I winced when she pulled a knife from behind her belt. "Hey, it's alright, I won't hurt you," said the brunette and carefully cut the ties around my wrists. As soon as my arms were free I stood up, knocking the woman over, and limped to the basement door, ignoring the knife which was still stuck in my thigh. I didn't care that all the guns in the room were aimed at me, except for the one that was pointed into Jess' temple, all I could think of was Anna. I could barely stand by the time I reached the door, pain was becoming too overwhelming but I didn't succumb to it. At least not just yet.

"What are you doing?" a deep voice growled, probably Oaken's.

"Someone–is in–there," I managed to hiss through my gritted teeth.

"_Elsa? What's going on?" _Anna's voice reached me through the door.

"Anna, I'm–here," I answered, trying to turn the key but it was almost impossible to get a grip on it with my shaking fingers.

"Here, let me," said the brunette and started turning the key. I didn't hear when she came so close to me but I let her turn the key anyway.

"T–thank you," I whispered.

"Punz, what are you doing?" Oaken asked, concern poorly concealed in his voice.

"It's alright," she said calmly while opening the door for me. I was leaning next to the wall when Anna stormed out with confusion forming on her face.

"Elsa?" She asked, failing to notice me behind her. Just when I was about to respond she saw Jess standing beside Oaken. "You!" she yelled, her expression dark as she started walking towards the woman who caused so much pain to my body but before she could reach her, Punz grabbed her upper arm and stopped her. Anna turned around and was about to say something nasty but the words stuck in her throat when she saw me leaning against the wall, beaten, broken and bloody, with that stupid knife still sticking out of my leg.

"Hi," I managed to say with a small smile before sliding down the wall.

"Oh my gods, Elsa, what have they done to you?" she said, sitting down before me and tears rolling down her cheeks. She raised her arms to touch me but drew them back, too scared to hurt me even more. "Please, can you help her?" She turned around and pleaded two pairs of eyes which looked at us with worried expressions. The woman was first to respond.

"Help me lift her," she said and grabbed my ankles. Anna hooked her arms under my armpits, apologizing when I let out a silent groan. They carried me to the couch and when Anna went to take the knife and pull it out of my leg, Punz's hand grabbed her wrist and stopped her. "Leave it to me," the woman said calmly. "I'm a nurse." She let go of Anna's arm. The read-head moved herself so she was looking straight into my eyes. "I'm sorry," I whispered. Anna was about to say something but was interrupted by Punz.

"Flyyyynn!" the brunette yelled while checking on my wounds.

The guy came rushing back into the cabin, Peter following him. "What's wrong, Rapunzel? Who's this?" he said looking at Anna.

"It doesn't matter right now, she's alright. Give me you backpack. Her wounds are worse than I thought," she said with a stern voice which left no room for protests. Flynn handed her his backpack and she pulled out a med-kit and started mending my wounds. If it hadn't been for Anna, who was holding my hand and whispering soft words to turn my attention away from pain, I would have fallen unconscious several times by the time Rapunzel was done with cleaning and wrapping cuts and bruises.

"It's getting dark," said Flynn when Punz-Rapunzel washed her bloody hands with some water from the container that stood in the corner of the room. She nodded and started packing her things.

"What shall we do with these two?" Peter asked and pointed to still knocked out Greg and Jess whose mouth was now shut with duct tape and her arms tied behind her back.

"We could end their lives right here and now," Flynn offered but the way Rapunzel looked at him after saying those words he changed his mind. "Or we could leave them here and let them face the Mad-dog's rage." Even though Flynn was apparently the leader of this group it looked like Rapunzel was the one who made final decisions. "Though, next time I see these two pieces of shit I _will_ shoot them," he said with a disgusted tone.

"What about them?" Everyone's gaze turned to me and Anna. We had been staring at each other for a few seconds before Rapunzel broke the silence. "They can come with us if they want." _What?_

"What?" said all three men in unison, echoing the same question I was asking myself.

"C'mon, Flynn, you know there's space for them too and she needs proper care for her wounds," she said, taking a quick glance at me.

"Rapunzel, you don't know them! For all we know they could be psychopaths or something even worse."

"Seriously, Flynn? Look at them. And actually, I do know kind of know them."

"What?" asked Anna, once again echoing the same questing I was going to ask.

"Well, uh, I was the one, who, um, interrupted you while having … Fun in snow and, well, it was me Elsa ran after and fell into the river. I'm really sorry about that, I wanted to help you but," she looked apologetically at me and then at Anna, "damn, Anna, you should see her face when she launched herself at me, I was sure she was going to murder me, but anyway, I did want to help Elsa but then you came so I was sure you got it. And, hey, you handled the situation!" she said shyly, shame radiating from her voice.

"It was you I ran after?" I asked sceptically.

"Yes, and I'm sorry for letting you fall into the river, I really am. So let me repay you with a place in our community. What do you think?" She was looking at me expectantly and when I looked at Anna whose gaze wore the same expression I knew I'd have to say yes. After all, we did lose our home. "Anna?" I asked her to make sure she agreed. She nodded enthusiastically so I nodded too.

"Flynn?" asked Rapunzel with a serious tone. He stared at her expressionlessly but after a moment he answered. "Fine. But you have some explaining to do when we get home."

"Okay," she said simply and winked at me and Anna.

"Let's go!" he commanded and with that the six of us left the cabin of horror.

* * *

_Hello there, I know, I know, I'm sorry I'm late with this update but you know what they say, better late than never. _

_I hope you like this chapter, I mean, yay, our girls are safe again ... Hopefully. _

_And as always, thank you so much for reviews, favs and follows. You guys are the best! ^^_


	10. Chapter IX

Chapter IX

The ride was long. I didn't know how long but when I woke up from a dreamless sleep I could see the sun was already rising. I felt lost for a moment; I didn't know where I was, but a gentle hand softly brushing my cheek brought me back to sense. "Good morning, beautiful," whispered Anna in my ear.

"I don't feel very beautiful at the moment." I groaned when the painful reality of my beaten body hit me. _Not that I ever felt beautiful to begin with._

"Oh, but you are." She planted a kiss on the top of my head. "Bruised, but beautiful." She tightened her arms around me and I dug my head deeper into the crook of her neck. "How do you feel?" she asked after a few moments. I was in pain, but thanks to Rapunzel's care I wasn't in so much pain as I had expected. She did her job well, and when we settled in the car she offered me painkillers, which I gladly accepted. Though their effect had mostly faded away, I still didn't feel all the cuts and bruises I had.

"It hurts but just a little bit," I answered, not entirely honestly.

"Maybe I could ask for more painkillers?" Anna asked, and before I could argue that it wasn't really necessary, that I didn't want to be a burden, she tapped Rapunzel's shoulder. The brunette turned around and smiled at me. "Hey, how are you feeling?" she asked.

"I'm fi–"

"Could you give her some more painkillers?" Anna interrupted, mid-sentence.

"Yeah, sure!" Rapunzel turned back eagerly to get the small container of pills.

"No, I'm okay, really." I objected.

"No, you are not. Stop being so stubborn. I can see you are in pain." Anna insisted.

"Here." Rapunzel handed her some pills and a bottle of water, so I had no choice other than to accept the offer. I thanked her and swallowed the pill. I leaned back into Anna's embrace, content that she was safe once again. I could feel the painkillers kicking in and my eyelids becoming heavy, so I closed them and rested against Anna's chest, never actually falling asleep. I listened in to her conversation with Rapunzel:

"So, how long till we get to this place?" asked Anna.

"Hmm, I'm not sure." Replied Rapunzel. "Eugene, are we close?"

For a moment I wasn't sure whom Rapunzel was speaking to, but it became clear to me as soon as Flynn's grumpy voice reached my ears.

"'Bout a hundred kilometres to go, and don't call me that in front of strangers." he grumbled.

"Eugene, c'mon, you know I prefer to call you that, and Elsa and Anna are not strangers." She replied. "I spent my five hours long shift driving and talking to Anna while you dozed off in the passenger's seat as soon as we switched sides, and I'm convinced they're fine. Did you know Anna plays piano?" I heard Rapunzel shifting in her seat as she whispered to Anna, loud enough for Flynn to hear her words: "He has a thing for pianos." Anna chuckled and whispered back: "She has a thing for pianos too."

_Oh, gods, Anna. Seriously?_

I knew that if my face wasn't so bruised my cheeks would have turned dark red in that instant. I realized Anna obviously noticed how my mind drifted away when she played the piano for me during those afternoons we spent in her room.

"See? I told you they aren't that bad." Rapunzel exclaimed happily. Flynn let out a deep sigh.

"Maybe we could play a duet sometime?" Flynn asked, in a much kinder and warmer voice now. I could hear Rapunzel bouncing in her seat and clapping her hands from excitement.

"Oh, yes! I would love to! Wait, you have a piano?" Anna asked.

"Yep," he answered, with a hint of pride in his voice.

"I told you he's a sweetheart. Aren't you, grumpyboy?" Rapunzel teased and I was sure I heard her kissing his cheek.

"How long have you two been together?" Anna asked.

"Hmm, I think it's been more than five years." Rapunzel answered. "We've been together before the whole virus breakout happened, though he was away for a quite long time when it occurred. He was a soldier then, and he was sent to I-don't-know-what-goddam-place, and we never heard from him again. I thought he was dead, since it was impossible to predict who was immune to the virus and who wasn't. Four months after the beginning of the new era he showed up in my hometown and … here we are." Rapunzel chuckled but there was a hint of sadness in her voice. They remained silent for a few moments. Anna leaned her chin on the top of my head and sighed. With my eyes still closed I lifted my hand and caressed her cheek. She held my hand with her own and pressed it closer. Then she pulled it to her lips and covered my palm with many light kisses. "How are you feeling?" she asked.

I opened my eyes and looked at her. "Much better." I answered, this time completely honest for the painkillers were now in their full operational mode. The fact that I was pressed against Anna's warm body with her arms wrapped around me improved my condition even more.

We spent the rest of the ride in silence. I looked out of the window and observed the landscape that was changing before my eyes. It was a sunny day and snow reflected the sun rays beautifully. I turned to look at the back and saw another car following us. I couldn't resist laughing at the image of Oaken and Peter, who were apparently singing.

"This is it," Rapunzel said, and Anna and I scooted to the middle of the car to have a better look through the front window.

A small town war rising before my eyes, surrounded with a wall of bricks and barbed wire. I spotted two guard towers with two men holding sniper rifles in their arms.

"It's like a huge army camp," Anna gasped.

"Nah, that's just how it is in the outside" Flynn said. "It's completely different once you're inside. The walls are just for safety and protection. Not all survivors are exactly … harmless."

"Hans?" I suggested.

"Yes, though he and his people are a whole different dimension of danger; he crushes everyone and everything that crosses his way. We were lucky to build defences quickly enough and turn so many good people to our side, otherwise, I would be telling a whole different story. Or maybe even not even telling any story at all."

I was about to ask something else but we reached the gate. A second later the gates opened and the two cars were allowed inside. It was just like Flynn said: inside the walls the town looked completely normal. There were houses everywhere, some buildings that looked like shops, a town hall, a park ... all in all this was a regular town, except for the walls surrounding it.

What surprised me the most, though, was the fact that there were people in it. Like, a _lot_ of them. I hadn't seen so many people in one place for so long it actually felt it was a bit unnatural. Some of them waved at us and Rapunzel waved back at them, grinning happily.

"How many people live here?" asked Anna.

"There are sixty of us for now." Rapunzel answered and smiled gently. "Sam and Lara, a couple who live in that house over there," she pointed to a small yellow house "will have a baby in about two months."

"Aww, that's so sweet!" Anna exclaimed excitedly and clasped her hands. _She's so adorable_, I thought to myself and smiled.

"Okay, here's our stop," Flynn announced as we stopped in front of a lovely house with big windows. "You'll stay here with us for a while so I can keep an eye on you-ouch! What was that for, Punz?!" he cried when Rapunzel hit his ribs with her elbow and looked at him with a serious expression. He sighed: "Okay, okay, I was just kidding. You'll stay here with us until we prepare another place for you to settle in." The way he said this made me think that he was actually serious about keeping an eye on us. I didn't mind though, I was so grateful for their help and bringing us here.

I was opening the door on my side of the vehicle when Anna's hand tugged gently on my shoulder. "Don't move, I'm going to help you out." I simply nodded at that and waited for Anna to get to the other side of the car. She wrapped my arm around her neck and pulled me up so I was standing on my uninjured leg, then she supported me with her arm around my waist, pressing me tightly to her side.

"Need any help?" asked Rapunzel.

"Thanks, but I've got this," Anna replied.

"Okay, follow me then," said Rapunzel, and we followed her inside the house.

"So, here's the kitchen and there the living room. This side, though," she pointed to the left "is off limits. You'll be staying here." she walked over to the right side of the room. I marvelled at how neat their home was. "This place is really nice," said Anna.

"Yeah, it really is," I added.

"Thank you!" Rapunzel said and flashed us a huge grin. "So, here are the guest rooms. You can have two or you can share one, it doesn't really matter. There are some fresh towels on the beds in case you want to take a bath." She laughed when Anna let out a dreamy sigh. "Oh, speaking of bath, here's the bathroom for guests. Eugene and I have our own." She opened the door which led to the bathroom and turned the light on.

"This is amazing. Thank you, Rapunzel," Anna said as she squeezed Rapunzel's shoulder gently.

"It's okay," said Rapunzel and smiled. "I'll give you two some privacy now. If you need anything, I'll be in the kitchen."

"Oh, can I ask you for something?" I asked.

"Yeah, sure!"

"Do you have some, um, spare clothes or something?"

Rapunzel looked at our blood soaked clothes and replied quickly. "Of course! I'll go get them, in the meantime you can lay down or something."

I thanked her and she left.

"Pick a room." I said and looked down into Anna's face.

A grin formed on her lips. "I pick bathroom." I laughed at that and shook my head.

"But we need to get towels first."

"Okay, wait here," she said and leaned me against wall. Then she peeked into the rooms and stopped at the third one. "This one." She entered it and disappeared for a few seconds. She returned with a pile of towels in her arms and disappeared again in the bathroom.

"Anna, what are you doing?" I laughed when I heard the water running.

"I'm preparing your bath," she said and reappeared from the bathroom.

I cocked my eyebrow. "My bath?"

"Mhm, you need it more than I do so you're getting it first," she explained and led me into the bathroom. "If you need anything, I'll be outside," said Anna, after releasing me near the tub. She turned around and was about to exit but I stopped her, grabbing her wrist.

"Can you stay, please?" I felt a blush was creeping up my neck at the request so I looked down at my toes and tried to hide it. "I mean, I think I'm going to need some help."

A smile spread across her face and she closed the door. When she stepped closer I noticed her freckled cheeks were glowing pink. _Gods, she's so cute. _I released her wrist as she turned me around to carefully pull off the hoodie. The shirt and my top tank followed and she dropped them on the ground with a gasp.

"Oh my … What did that woman do to you?" she whispered and trailed her fingers along the bruises that covered my neck and shoulders.

"She got a bit too excited," I said shrugging. Then I noticed a mirror on the wall next to me and took a look. I regretted it as soon as I saw my bruised face covered with cuts and open wounds… And my _eye_. It was completely swollen from the punches it received from that mad woman.

"It's going to heal," said Anna from behind me when she saw where I was looking. "C'mon, let's clean you up."

She continued taking my clothes off until I was standing there almost naked. "May I?" she asked tentatively and tugged at my bra.

I nodded. "You've already seen me naked."

She chuckled nervously and unclasped the bra. I could feel her fingers shaking as she slid it off and threw it next to the other clothes. Then she focused on the last piece of clothing and slid my panties down my legs. After I was rid of any clothing, she held my arms and led me to the bathtub which was slowly filling with water. "I think that's enough," said Anna, and turned off the faucet. She helped me get in the bathtub without falling. The warm sensation took over my body in an instant. "Mmmh, it feels so good," I mumbled as I relaxed completely.

"Look what I found!" exclaimed Anna. "A shampoo!"

"Do you think we can use it?"

"Yeah, I'm sure we can," she said, and pulled a chair closer to the bathtub so she was sitting behind me. She started undoing my messy braid and after she finished I slid down the smooth wall of the tub so I was completely underwater. I stayed there for a few seconds and then re-emerged to the surface.

"I see you're enjoying this," said Anna, laughing.

"Yeah, I really am," I replied. When I felt Anna's fingers massaging my scalp I sighed contently. The sweet scent of the shampoo reached my nostrils.

"Okay now, wash off the foam." Anna said, and I sank back underwater. When I was back on the surface I felt her hands moving lower and rubbing my neck and shoulders. Her touch woke up something in me and I could feel warmth starting to form in my abdomen.

"Am I pressing too hard?" she asked.

"No, it's perfect," I said and closed my eyes. Well, one of my eyes, the other one was already shut.

She hummed softly as her hands descended from my shoulders to my arms and then to my forearms. I could feel her warm breath right next to my ear, and it sent pleasant shivers down my spine. I could barely keep a moan from escaping my throat. She then slid her hands back upwards but this time her hands rested on my collarbones, and she rubbed them softly with her thumbs. The warmth that was now strongly present in my belly started turning into heat as her hands slowly started sliding down on my chest.

"Elsa."

I turned my head at the sound of her voice and my gaze was caught in her eyes, our noses almost touching. I couldn't hold it back and pressed my lips against hers. The kiss was hot, passionate and filled with desire. It turned even hotter when our tongues got involved. When I bit her lower lip, she let out a very enticing moan, and my lips curved into a smile. I moaned into her mouth when I felt her hands cupping my breasts and squeezing them gently.

_Knock, knock, knock. _"Anna? Elsa? Are you in there?"

We broke the kiss abruptly and Anna gathered herself quickly enough to answer Rapunzel's question. "Yeah, I–we're here."

"I've got you some clothes. I hope they'll fit you. I'll leave them here on the bed."

"Thank you!"

When no other reply came from the other side of the door Anna turned back to me and cleared her throat. "Maybe we should finish cleaning you up … The water is getting cold."

I nodded in agreement.

Anna helped me get to the room she picked for us after I got out of the bath tub and wrapped me in the towels. Then she helped me get dressed. The clothes Rapunzel gave us fit me perfectly. "I'm gonna take a bath now. You try to rest, okay?" She pushed me gently onto the bed, and when I made myself comfortable she leaned closer and kissed my forehead, tips of her hair brushing my face. "I'll join you later."

"Okay," I replied smiling and covered myself with a blanket. I fell asleep a couple of minutes later.

* * *

_Happy times are here. Enjoy them while they last._

_I would like to thank my awesome Beta reader _**catsmelt**_ for helping me with this chapter and making it a better world of words. :)_

_And you guys; thank you for sticking with the story and showing it so much support. :D_


	11. Chapter X

Chapter X

_I was lying on the floor next to Kristoff's dead body. I didn't mind. I didn't care. All I wanted was to die. All I wanted was for virus to have a feast on my brain and kill me so I wouldn't have to do it myself. So I waited. The day turned to night and the night turned to day but nothing happened. "Please, take me too," I begged the invisible enemy I hated for so many reasons. I felt like praying to some higher power to end this nightmare and get me back to my family. I had never believed in the prospect of afterlife but in that moment I knew that if I died, I'd see Kristoff and mum and dad again. I would greet death like an old friend just to hug my beloved once again and tell them I loved them. I was angry and disappointed in Kristoff but I would tell him either way how much he meant to me. Though I wasn't sure if I would be ever able to forgive him for what he had done … He left me. He should have waited with me. He was supposed to stay with me. Now he was just a soulless body. I turned my head to face him. "You left me," I said, but no response came from the body next to me. "You _left_ me!" I yelled this time and a wave of tears came rushing down my face. I curled into a ball, pulling my knees to my chest and biting them. "I miss you," I mumbled. _

_Another two hours passed and I became tired of waiting. I was tired of waiting for the disease to take my life. I rose up to my knees and looked at the gun Kristoff was still holding. There was my exit. Right there, in the puddle of my boyfriend's dried blood. I laughed hysterically because any other time I'd find that amount of blood disgusting but at that moment it just] was just there:. aA reminder of how easily a life could be lost. And it was about to mix with mine. I stretched out my shaking hand out and held the muzzle of the gun and pulled it out from Kristoff's stiff grip. It was heavy and cold against my heated skin. Then I just stared at it. I was pretty sure the gun was called Beretta 92. No, I knew it was Beretta, I remembered it from the first person shooter games I played with Kristoff. _"This was your favourite hand gun, right?" _I asked my boyfriend's body. I knew it was. I used to tease him about that because Magnum 44 or Desert Eagle were much more effective than Beretta but he would stick with it. I let out a sigh. Every weapon was effective if it was used correctly in real life. _

_I liftedpicked up the gun and cocked it. My hands were trembling. They weren't supposed to tremble. I wasn't supposed to be nervous. I was _okay _with dying. I didn't want to live alone. _But you promised your mother. _I rolled my eyes at my brain. _You fucking promised her. _I lifted the gun and mimicked Kristoff's action from a day before. The gun's muzzle was cold but it burned my skin at the left temple. My finger on the trigger was ready. Just one pull and it would have been over. _But Idid promised her._ Tears were pouring down my face once again and my body was shaking. The images of my dying mother were flashing before my eyes. The images of my dad's body on the floor were mixing with them. I promised _her_ but that promise was made for both of them. I glanced at Kristoff. The promise was made for him too. I cried out loud and tensed the trigger finger a bit. _

Who's going to bury them?

_The thought shot through me like a lightning. An image of their rotting bodies pierced my mind and it made me feel terrible. _You. Selfish. Creature. You do deserve to die but not on your terms. _I felt sick as hell. I really was selfish. _

_I dropped the gun. I hated it. I didn't want to touch it anymore. It only brought me pain and misery. I stood up and walked down the stairs. My parents were still there, lifeless and absent. They deserved a burial and I was going to give them one. I wanted to give them and Kristoff a burial because I loved them all. They were my family. _

_So I started to dig. It was painful and hard and tiring. And I welcomed it openheartedly for my thoughts were distracted and focused on blisters and sore muscles. It felt good. The physical pain was better than mental pain. When I was done with digging the graves the sun was already setting. My whole body ached but I couldn't stop there. I had to get the bodies and bury them. It was harder than I expected. _

_I wrapped them into white sheets which got dirty as soon as I laid my hands covered in with dirt on them. I didn't have much trouble with mum; she was slim and about the same height as I was. I had much more trouble with my dad and even more with Kristoff. But, eventually, I somehow got them to the place I wanted them to be._

_It was completely dark by the time I finished. I had to find a lantern in order to see what I was doing. I collapsed to the ground with the last shovel of earth. My body ached, my hands were blistered and raw flesh stung with each tiny movement. I looked at the three graves. My shadow followed and mimicked my movements. "Do you want to say something?" I asked the dark silhouette. There was no reply and I shook my head. "Who am I kidding …"_

_I laid down on the warm grass covered with dirt and stared into the starry sky. I sighed and started talking. __""__Mum, dad, Kristoff … I know you probably don't hear me but I'll pretend you do because the sky's awake and you're in the stars now so you must be awake too. I–I love you so much." My voice broke at the last word and I had to try really hard not to cry. _"_I always have and I always will. You were the best family anyone could wish for. I would give anything – anything to get you back. I miss you." I closed my eyes and took a deep breath to prevent tears from rolling down my cheeks. "Dad, Kristoff, I'm sorry I didn't say goodbye properly to you, and Kristoff? I don't blame you for what you did though I wish you would have told me before I had made any promises … I wanted to go with you but I have to keep my word, I know that now. I made a promise and I will try to keep it. I will live. For you guys." _

x

It had been a week since we came to this place. I and Anna spent seven days going around, meeting new people, getting to know the town and its rules. It was soon clear that Flynn and Rapunzel were some kind of leaders or mayors of this place. Rapunzel and her family were the ones who founded this haven with the help of their friends. When her parents passed away it was Flynn who helped her taking care of the town and its people after he returned. The thing about them was the fact that tTownspeople trusted them and whoever we, well mostly Anna, spoke to, they always said that the pair was kind and fair and very capable of keeping this place together. That made us feel more content with staying at their place.

I was really glad to see that Anna and Rapunzel got along together so well. because Anna was, unlike me, a very openoutgoing person and was in needed a lot ofof human contact, although it made me even happier that _I _had a special place in her heart. We were almost inseparable; she was always beside me, supporting me becausefor my leg still hadn't healed completely and it still hurt. She and Rapunzel wanted me to rest but I didn't submit to their pleas. Even though I was starting to feel more comfortable around Rapunzel and Flynn I couldn't help myself but to be carefulwary around others, therefore I couldn't let Anna wander around the town alone with whose people she didn't know.

I was amazed when Flynn showed us a giant storage room with cans of food, bottles of water sacks of flour and the most stunning of all,: sacks of flour and the fact that they kept and bred animals. They had cows, chickens, horses, goats and even pigs. I was told before that they bred animals but it was a whole different experience to actually see them. I never thought I would appreciate farming so much as I did in the moment when I was offered fresh milk during the dinner with Rapunzel and Flynn. He then explained everything about the animals they bred and how was it even possible to do so. All the farming was possible because some of the people here were farmers and they taught others the craft art of farming. Almost every single person was somehow involved withparticipated in it. Everything was systematic which meant everyone had their job whether it was feeding the animals or picking eggs or giving pigs water. As I had already noticed the water was also warm and they had the source of electricity too. They collected it the latter a bit differently compared to Anna but I didn't really pay attention how when a guy called Mark explained the whole process.

We were introduced to all the residents, I felt very uncomfortable with the fact that and I barely remembered some of their names after a few days. With the exception of Mark, Rapunzel and Flynn, Peter and Oaken, I was slightly clueless what other people's names were. And, honestly, I didn't really care. I was okay with knowing our hosts and Peter, who was really nice and eager to accompany us while exploring the town. It was Anna who wanted to meet everyone; ; and she was friendly with each and every person even though some of them were a bit reserved or suspicious of us at first, but relaxed but they quickly relaxing updwarme after a few exchanged words. And me? I was completely content with standing beside her, listening to her voice and holding her hand which claimed my own. I didn't object.

"Are you okay?" Anna's voice interrupted my train of thoughts. We were slowly walking towards Rapunzel's house and the sun was already setting.

"Yeah, yeah, I was just thinking," I said.

"What were you thinking about?" She lifted my hand and pressed a kiss on my knuckles. _I can get used to that._ Her displays of affection, which were bolder and more and more frequent, made me feel a familiar heat forming in my lower abdomen every time she touched me.

"Uh, just about this place and its people," I answered.

"I think this place is amazing!" she said happily. "What do you think?"

"I think it's nice and … Safe?" I said a bit sceptically.

"Are you worried about the people?"

"Well, no, I mean, yes. I don't know what to think about all this to be honest. It's just too good to be true. I want to be careful," I explained.

"You have trouble with trusting people, don't you?" She couldn't be closer to the truth.

"I trust _you_," I teased, trying to lighten the uncomfortable mood that descended on us. I noticed Anna was blushing and she turned away. "Thank you, and I trust you too but still, Elsa, you should open up a bit. Not everyone is bad, you know? I mean look at Rapunzel and Flynn, they let us to stay in their own house!"

I had to agree with that. For some reason they did seem to trust us.

"I know but I can't, Anna, at least not yet. Though I _will_ try, okay? Just give me some time." She searched my healing face which was getting much better. The swell around my hurt eye was almost gone and bruises had all turned yellow. Then she nodded. "Okay." We were standing on the porch of our hosts' house now. I wrapped my arms around her shoulders and pulled her into a hug. Anna buried her face into my neck and pressed her lips against it and could feel her them stretching in a smile. "You're so soft," she mumbled into my skin. A very pleasant feeling travelled down my skin from the spot her breath touched my neck. The feeling grew stronger when she started drawing circles on the small of my back with her thumbs and I closed my eyes at the contact. I thought it couldn't get better but her lips traveling up my neck and trailing many kisses along my jaw proved me wrong. I pulled my arms back to lay my hands on her cheeks and I opened my eyes which were, I had no doubt about that, filled with lust. It only fuelled me more when I found myself staring back into equally dark and lustful eyes. Then I crashed our lips together into a hungry kiss. I could swear that the heat that surrounded us in that moment could thaw and wipe away the cold in the whole town. I licked the roof of Anna's mouth and she bucked her hips against mine and moaned at the sensation. I smiled into her lips because I was so happy I could make her feel like that.

"Hey, guys, Flynn just told me–oh, OH." We broke our kiss abruptly at the sound of Rapunzel's voice.

"Damn it, Rapunzel! Stop doing that!" Anna mockingly scolded Rapunzel.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt you. Wait, stop doing what?" Rapunzel asked, confusion displayed on her face.

"Well, this, interrupting us! This was the third time you did so."

"The third time? I don't rem–ooooooh, okay, I get it. I'm really sorry … Though I think I know how to make it up to you." She flashed a mischievous grin and winked. "Follow me."

She led us to a small wooden cottage where Flynn was already waiting for us. "What's up?" asked Anna as we entered through the door.

"This will be your place," said Flynn.

"Are you serious? Here?" I couldn't believe they actually offered us a place like this. It was small but after taking a quick look around it was perfect. Cosy and neat with wooden walls that warmed the rooms.

"Do you notDon't you like it?" said Rapunzel with a worried expression.

"Are you kidding? This place is amazing!" I exclaimed and hugged the brunette which was a big thing for me.

"I told you they would like it," said Flynn with a victorious smirk on his lips.

"Anna, what do you think?" I asked the girl beside me. She was looking around with tears in her eyes. "Anna, are you okay?" She turned to me and saw my confused expression.

"Tears of joy, Elsa, tears of joy," she whispered and hugged me.

"I don't know how we will ever repay you for your kindness. I mean you two treated us well, took us – strangers, into your house and now you're giving us this."

"Don't worry, we don't mind. We think people deserve a chance to live well and in good conditions. Every one of us had to go through bad things. We all suffered so it's only right that we survivors make a better world together," said Rapunzel and wrapped her arms around Flynn's waist. "Isn't that so, Eugene?"

He looked at her with a caring expression. "Of course it is, honey."

"So, I guess we'll give you some … pPrivacy now." I blushed at the last words because I knew what she was implying. "Everything you need is around the house. Fresh clothes, some food, blankets and so on. C'mon, Eugene, it's late."

When they were gone I closed the door and turned to face Anna. She was standing in what looked like a living room, her eyes fixed on mine. _I want you, Anna. Here and now. _I wanted to take her. I wanted to make her mine. I was close in the past few days but we never went all the way. We were physically exhausted from everything so it always ended with only kisses and falling asleep in each other's embrace.

We didn't say a word for about a minute, we just stood there and looked at each other. And then all of a sudden she was standing before me, so close, our noses were almost touching. Her breath tickled my lips which parted slightly. I could barely keep myself from devouring her right there but I wanted her to make the first move. A devious smile spread across her lips, her dark eyes still fixed on mine. "Let's find the bedroom." And with that she lifted me and I wrapped my legs around her hips, ignoring the pain in my still healing thigh. Then she carried me to the first door we found. "Not bedroom." I laughed and kissed the top of head. "Nope," she said after checking the second room. "Ah, yes," she breathed against my neck when we caught a glimpse of a bed in the middle of the room. She laid me down on the bed and hovered above me. Then I grabbed her shirt and crashed our lips together. Our tongues fought for dominance, our hands sliding up and down our bodies and I almost lost control when she slipped her thigh between my legs and pressed it against my core. With that I rolled us over so I was on top of her. I straddled her hips and pulled away from her lips. She groaned at the loss but I only smirked at that and started pulling off my clothes. Anna gulped loudly when I was about to unclasp my bra. I pressed my body against hers when I got rid of it and kissed her. It was soft and slow this time; I wanted to enjoy how she tasted. "Love me, Elsa," she whispered against my lips.

"Always," I replied.

Not even a kiss shared by the Sun and the Moon during their eclipse could compare to the magic we created while losing ourselves in each other that night.

* * *

_OH MY GODS! ARE YOU SERIOUS?! 105 followers? 50 favourites? Are you sure you're not reading the wrong fic? _

_What can I say? I feel honoured. Thank you._

_And thanks to my Beta for taking her time and going through the mess I send once in a while._

_I'm sorry for the late update; the amount of work and school assignments have started to accumulate so I will update once a week from now on. Sorry._


	12. Chapter XI

Chapter XI

I didn't want to wake up. If this moment was a dream, I sure as hell didn't want to wake up. _But this _is_ real_, I thought to myself. An arm wrapped around my naked waist felt real. A warm breath against my neck felt real. A soft body pressed against my side felt _very _real.

I opened my eyes slowly, afraid that when I did so Anna would be gone and I would be alone again but she remained there, breathing slowly. I let out a content sigh and raised my hand to rest it on the top of her head. I stroked her beautiful messy hair and cocked my head slightly to place a kiss on her forehead. That simple contact of my lips and her skin brought back the memories from the night before. I blushed at the thought and a warm feeling spread from the inside and out in my chest. I was hers and she was mine. And I wanted it to stay like that. Hopefully forever.

A content sigh left Anna's throat and she tightened her grip around my waist. The feeling triggered the flood of emotions and they consumed my mind, bringing back more memories of _our _night.

I pressed my naked torso against her body and kissed her; her lips and mine seemed to melt and fuse together. And then she said those words against my mouth: "_Love me, Elsa."_ In that moment I knew there was only one word that would be strong enough to express how exceptionally strong feelings I had for her. "_Always."_ I replied.

Stars were exploding before my eyes as my hands travelled down Anna's body; trailing her beautiful curves and sliding them under her shirt to take it off. She didn't hesitate when I tugged at it and helped me take it off with one swift movement. Her bra followed and she was back on my lips, pressing her tongue between them and a moan escaped my throat when she licked the roof of my mouth.

I didn't remember when we managed to get rid of the rest of the clothes. All I could remember was Anna's skin and touch that made me go crazy and made me want her more with each and every kiss she planted on my skin. Even though the heat in my lower abdomen threatened to become unbearable I found strength to take it slow with this wonderful girl. She deserved it and I wanted to take her to the stars. I slowed our kiss which was passionate nevertheless and moved my lips from hers to her cheeks and slowly descended to her jaw. Her neck followed and I gently grazed my teeth against the skin behind her ear. She arched her back at this and I let out a gasp when her body pressed against mine. _"Gods, Anna, you feel so good,"_ I whispered as I nuzzled my nose into the crook of her neck. Her breathing was getting faster and she dug her fingers into my skin, leaving tiny nail marks all over my back.

I descended lower and lower until I reached her breasts and kissed them hungrily. "_Don't stop,"_ gasped Anna, clutching my hair and pulling me deeper into her chest. I continued my assault on her breast while my hands travelled down along her toned stomach. _"Please, Elsa," _she whined when my hands stopped on her hip bones and started drawing circles on the delicious part of her pelvis. I lifted my head at the sound of her desperate voice and a wicked smile stretched across my lips when I saw two eyes looking back at me, dark and filled with lust. I _did _want to take it slow but she had other plans; I was taken by surprise at how quickly she wrapped her arms around my neck and crashed our lips together, to then slide one arm down to press it to the small of my back and push me down into a collision of our hips. I let out a loud moan when she slid one of her thighs between my legs and pressed it against my centre. I returned the favour and pushed her deeper into the mattress and thrust my hips into hers. Soon, we found our rhythm. I was close, hell, I was close _from the very beginning_ and the sound of my name leaving her lips told me she was close too. And then she reached her peak. I opened my eyes to see her face which was in pure bliss; I had never seen anything more beautiful. And that image brought me to my climax. The feeling of complete ecstasy made my body go numb and I collapsed on the top of Anna. She didn't seem to mind it since she wrapped her arms around my waist and planted a kiss on my temple. We laid like that for a few minutes, catching our breaths and enjoying the moments of just being there. _"I love you, Elsa."_ It was the first time Anna had said those words since the _incident_ in that godforsaken cabin. It warmed my heart, knowing that the words weren't just a product of fear and insecurity. _"I love you too, Anna. So much," _I breathed out and kissed her neck tenderly …

"I can hear you thinking." Anna's voice brought me back to present. She chuckled when she noticed a blush spreading across my neck, and lifted herself to see my face that was even redder. She kissed the tip of my nose. "Good morning, love." A loving smile rested on her lips and I couldn't help but marvel at how beautiful and gorgeous she looked.

"Good morning," I greeted back and brushed a strand of her hair behind her ear. "You look beautiful." I said, and Anna giggled shyly and blushed.

"Thank you, Elsa. So do you." Her words sank in deeply; I really _did_ feel beautiful. I had always considered myself an average girl with blonde hair and pale skin, nothing special. And I did feel confident about myself with Kristoff around, but he never made me feel like Anna did. "Are you okay?" Anna asked with a worried voice, when she probably noticed the frown on my face.

"Yes, I am. In fact, I have never been better. You make me feel so … _Alive._" I replied. "I've never felt like this before, Anna. Not even with–with Kristoff."

Anna's face softened at the sound of Kristoff's name. "What happened to him?" Anna quickly covered her mouth as if trying to cover the words she apparently didn't mean to say. "I'm sorry, I know you don't want to talk about him and you've already told me that it was the virus, but still, I mean, you talk about your parents openly with me but when it comes to him you just … Shut yourself in. And I think there's a bit more to it and I can see it's eating you from the inside." She rubbed my arm and leaned closer to me. "I just want to help you …"

A heavy sigh left my throat. She was right. I did that every time she tried to talk about my relationship with Kristoff. It still hurts too much to think about him. But maybe it was the time where I had, no, where I _wanted_ to talk about it, with her. I knew she would listen and maybe even understand.

"I know. You're right, and please, don't apologize. I do need to talk about it because it will kill me if I don't …" There were a few moments of silence, neither of us knowing where to start.

"So, what happened?" asked Anna, breaking the silence. I didn't answer right away; I was still gathering courage to start and Anna patiently waiting helped me a lot.

"Do you remember that gun I used to have?"

She nodded.

"Well, Kristoff, he–he wasn't killed by the virus."

She was looking at me, unblinking as the realization settled before her eyes. "Oh my gods, Elsa, I'm so sorry."

Suddenly my eyes filled with tears and Anna pulled me into a tight hug. I started sobbing uncontrollably. The ticking bomb that was threatening to blow up was being defused by the person that cared most about me. Anna was the one who saved me and helped me open up and finally talk openly about my thoughts considering Kristoff's suicide.

We didn't say anything for a while. We just laid there in our bed, me sobbing into Anna's chest and her holding me in her arms, and gently stroking my hair. I wanted to go on with the story, though, she deserved to know the whole of it. So I told her how how it devastated me and that I was about to do the same thing. I told her that the promise I made to my parents (and the thought about their burial) stopped me from doing so. I let everything that had been boiling up in me get off my chest and gods, it felt _so _good.

"Thank you, for telling me," she whispered into my hair. I just nodded and held her even tighter.

"Thank you for listening," I said after a few moments.

"I'll be always here for you, okay?" She turned my head so I could look her in her eyes. I smiled and nodded once again. "Good. Now, what do you want for breakfast?"

I laughed sincerely at her words which lifted the heavy mood that was fogging the moment. I thought about her question and when an answer formed in my brain I felt my cheeks burning and smirked shyly, "_You._" She stared at me for a few seconds and then attached her lips to mine with a speed of light. "I hope you enjoy your meal then," she laughed. She growled hungrily against my lips and pushed me into the bed.

x

"So, girls, how did you like your new home?" asked Rapunzel. We were walking along the road to find Flynn who wanted to talk to us.

"Gods, we absolutely love it!" Anna exclaimed happily. "I have no idea how we are ever going to repay you for your kindness."

"Oh, don't worry about that. I am completely okay with you just being safe. Though I believe we could use your help on something."

"Name it and we'll do it!" Anna looked at me and I nodded in agreement.

"One of our hunters got hurt and he's incapable of doing anything at the moment. From what I've heard from Elsa, I'm convinced you, Anna, are quite a great hunter yourself. So, I was wondering if you cared to join the hunting expedition with Flynn and the others."

"Yes, I would love to! But I only know how to hunt with a bow and mine is back at my home …"

I squeezed Anna's hand when I heard her voice was coloured with a hint of sadness. I knew how much that bow meant to her.

"I'm sure we can find something suitable. We have a vast armoury full of different kinds of weapons."

We reached a building that used to be the town hall. Flynn was standing next to the entrance, waving at us.

"Ah, there you are!" his voice reached us.

"Hi," we greeted as Rapunzel pulled him into a hug."

"They said they love their new home," reported the brunette.

"I'm glad to hear that." Flynn rejoiced "So, did Rapunzel tell you about the hunting?"

"Yes, she did, and we're in as long as I can get my hands on a bow," answered Anna.

"And as long as I can join the hunting party. I'm not letting Anna out from my sight."

"That shouldn't be a problem," he said. "It's settled then. Now, let's go to more serious matters now. Follow me."

Anna and I exchanged confused glances but followed him anyway. We entered a building where Peter and Oaken were sitting on two benches facing each other. "Hey, Elsa, Anna!" greeted Peter and we waved at him.

We went into the main office, Peter and Oaken following us. Flynn closed the door and walked over to the desk and sat on it with arms crossed on his chest.

"So, what's up?" I asked Flynn.

"We have a problem." He spoke those words in a serious manner and I felt a tingle of worry starting to spread through my body.

"What's wrong?"

"It's Hans."

_Fuck._ The moment the sound of his name left Flynn's mouth a cold shiver ran down my spine and I felt Anna tightened her grip on my hand.

"His men were seen patrolling near this area, which wouldn't be worrying because we do that too and it's sort of a … Mutual agreement. We own our land and he owns his land. It's like we were two countries. We know our boundaries. But now they've started crossing them which is not cool."

_No, no, no. He's here for _us_, he still wants his revenge. Probably even more now since I've managed to escape him twice. _

"What I wanted to ask you is, how you two ended up in that cottage and what was he discussing with his men while you were captured."

At first I just stared blankly at nothing in particular but then Anna nudged my elbow and looked at me when she got my attention. "It's okay, they can know." She flashed an encouraging smile.

I slowly nodded and started telling them about the event in the barn, our escape and how we got caught. Rapunzel cried silently in horror a few times and Flynn soothed her by rubbing her back while listening intently to my storytelling. Even though the physical wounds were practically healed, the mental ones were very much still fresh, so I struggled really hard to keep my voice stern and emotionless.

"It's really terrible what they did to you two. I'm so glad we found you before anything else happened," said Rapunzel.

"Yeah, so are we," I agreed and wrapped my arm around Anna's shoulders and she pressed a kiss on my cheek.

"Do you remember anything in particular that Hans said or implied or anything at all, that could help us understand the behaviour of his patrol?" asked Flynn, his tone still serious.

"Well, he sounded determined to catch me and Anna, so maybe they're looking for us," I suggested lamely.

"No, if it was because of you he wouldn't risk that much. He would just wait patiently for a chance. He claims his victims as his prizes, cherries on the top of a bloody cake," Flynn answered.

"Maybe there _was_ something else …" My voice trailed off while trying to fully recall the events from that night. "Before you guys came to the cabin, Hans got a visitor. I think his name was Duke."

Flynn nodded, interest displaying on his face. "Duke's one of Hans' men. A pretty important one if I'm not mistaken." He looked at Oaken who gave him a short nod to confirm his words.

"Well, this Duke guy came and told Hans something about a security breach and lost hostages."

"Wait, security breach? In his town?" asked Flynn, his voice filled with disbelief.

"Yes, that's what he said and with that they were off."

"So, that's why he wasn't there when we arrived," said Peter to himself and we all turned our heads to face him.

"That's impossible," continued Flynn, ignoring Peter's comment. "His place is even better secured than our own and I don't think our security is bad at all. But that doesn't really matter now, what worries me the most is the fact that apparently he thinks it was us who broke into his town and released the hostages."

"Flynn, does that mean we're in danger?" asked Rapunzel with a voice full of concern.

"I don't know. I mean, we're always in danger when that Mad-dog or his men are around. That's why we came after him the other day," he started explaining, and turned to me. "He wasn't surrounded by his army and he was out of his town. He was vulnerable in that moment but we failed to use the chance. See, we have an unfinished business and he has to pay for what he's done. He's hurt some of our people and killed one of my best friends. The Mad-dog owes us and his reign of terror must come to an end, but we just can't get a hold of him. It's hard, people are scared and the fact that he thinks it's us who dared poking his nest doesn't make things any better."

"What do we do then?" It was Anna who spoke this time.

"You? Nothing."

"What do you mean nothing?! I want to make Hans and his bitch suffer for what they did to Elsa!" I had never seen Anna talking about something so fiercely before.

"And to you, Anna," I added.

"Look, it's too dangerous and I haven't even come up with a plan yet. Maybe we should let the matter rest for a few days and get ready for hunting. We have to feed our people. They deserve some fresh meat. I will get you a bow, Anna." And with that it was obvious the discussion was over.

We all left the town hall with a miserable atmosphere surrounding us. "How do you feel about all that?" Anna asked me.

I intertwined our arms and pulled her closer into my side, sighing deeply. "I'm scared. It seems like we can't really escape that guy."

"I am scared too. But having you beside me makes things easier, you know?" she replied, and rested her head on my shoulder. "I feel like I can do anything when I'm with you."

"You _can _do anything, even without me, love. You're the most capable and amazing woman I have ever met."

"You think so?" she asked.

"I _know _so," I said reassuringly.

She lifted her head and kissed me softly. "I love you."

"I love you, too," I whispered into her lips and lingered there for a few moments. Then we broke the kiss and smiled lovingly at each other.

"Look, there's someone cutting wood!" said Anna. "Maybe we could ask him if he needs some help?"

"Yeah, sure, a good distraction would be nice." I flashed a grin at my adorable girl and we approached an old man with an axe.

"Good day, sir!" greeted Anna. "Would you care for two extra pairs of hands?"

"Why, sweet girl, not at all! I could use some help," the old man answered and offered his hand to her. "I'm Thomas Davis."

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Davis. I'm Anna and this is my, um …" She trailed off seeking the right word so I helped her a bit.

"Girlfriend," I winked at Anna and the biggest smile formed on her lips. "My name is Elsa." I offered him my hand and he accepted it, shaking my hand firmly.

"So, shall we begin?" he asked, and swung his axe at the tree stump.

* * *

_Yikes, this took me longer than _one _week. I'm sorry. My life's been ... a mess. _

_I don't know how to start thanking you for the support you're showing me. It's just amazing. Thank you._

_And special thanks to my Beta who's been doing her job superbly._


End file.
